Road Of A Duelist
by Lux-Nero
Summary: Duel Academia - The place where great duelists come to train and become champions. But, who trains the champions? A story based on the other side of Duel Academia.  Sort of a Re-Make of Duelist's Open Destiny
1. Draw 1: The Road to Destiny

**Author's Note:** A few years ago, I completed one of my favorite stories – A Tortured Duelist. However, I had jumped the gun and had begun working on its sequel while the original story was in the works, and had divided up my talents up, which is never a good thing.

Duelist's Open Destiny is what it was called, and while it had its ups, it had its downs as well. Therefore, I present to you all with a remake of that story. With new characters, new plots, and brand new take on my world of GX, this story has been revived with a vengeance!

But, before I begin, I have to say this, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Either its anime, manga, card game or its cards, and I don't own duel academy or the characters that originated from it. I do however, own the characters for this story as well as any original cards that will appear in this story. I would also like to say that this is just a one-shot opening chapter… Maybe… Depends on how people react to this.

In any case, a little warning… The story you're about to read contains gratuitous amounts of blow out of proportion moments, tremendous amounts of GAR (as well as its counterpart – MOE), anime slice of life moments, and logic that will make your head spin. You have been warned.

So, enjoy…

_**0-0-0-0-0-0**_

_**I'm not special, I'm just a young man who's been raised with only the bare necessities. I have no special skills other than being able to work hard for many hours without getting tired. I can't connect with some other personality inside my body, I have no special birthmark on my body, and I don't have the ability to break the rules whenever I wish.**_

_**I know that even if you surround yourself with things that can't hurt you, you won't be able to change. For some people that can satisfy them, but for me, it's not going to happen, I won't pick the same path as the people I know, since it'll lead to the same place.**_

_**The mystery of the outside world is like a voice calling out for me in the darkness… But, should I pursue it? There are skies and sceneries I've never seen before, all it would take to see them is the first step on a long journey…**_

_**Can you tell that I'm scared of this choice? Being trapped by this mystery, is that fate? Am I afraid to know what awaits me in the outside world?**_

_**I know that I could be safe in my comfort zone, but I have to do this. Am I confident that I'll be able to survive this experience? **_

_**No.**_

_**Am I guaranteeing that every day will have the sun gleaming on my back?**_

_**No. **_

_**But, this world has many different fates awaiting me, I can only look forward and I want to see the truth! I need to pursue that voice in the darkness, so, I'll start running. If this is the right path, I'll find out in the end and I'll chase after my destiny, no matter what happens!**_

_**And as my father once said, 'It's choice – Not chance – That determines your destiny.'**_

_**I merely want to draw the map to my own future, so watch over me in spirit my family. Watch as I write my own destiny! And my name is…**_

_**TTTTT**_

_**The Road of a Duelist**_

_**A Rewrite of Duelist's Open Destiny**_

_**By **_

_**Lux-Nero**_

_**TTTTT**_

_**Draw 1**_

_**The Road to Destiny**_

_**TTTTTTTT**_

_Time: 7:08 p.m._

Domino City, home to several famous duelists who made a name for themselves in the famous game know through out the entire world. Its tall buildings gleaming in the setting sun and reflecting the light into the streets, illuminating them in the warm light. People were walking through the streets, each of them minding their own business and not paying attention to each other, with either ears glued to their cell phones or their eyes watching the streets to watch the passing cars.

Truly, a great example of modern society with each person like a gear or cog in a clock to make it function at its best…

"GET OUT OF THE ROAD, DUMBASS!"

Jumping from the street before a small car could hit him, the older man blinked a few times as he watched the car zoom down the street. "… I see humans are still the same as ever. Only they seemed to have become more annoying with these vehicles."

The man crossed his arms at the sight of the people walking on the opposite side of the street, completely unaware of the stares he was receiving from the crowds behind him. The reason was mainly because of the way he was dressed – It wasn't everyday that you saw someone dressed in a white suit in the middle of the sidewalk with a blue jacket covering his shoulders.

'_It seems no matter where I go, humans are constantly showing their flaws,'_ The man thought to himself, watching the people messing with their cell phones, talking with each other, or ignoring anything else around them. '_They don't realize they were given a paradise, and now they're ruining this beautiful world with their filth. _

'_But soon, I'll be free of these pathetic beings.'_

**TTTTTTT**

_Time: 8:34 a.m._

Domino City, home to several famous duelists who made a name for themselves in the famous game know through out the entire world. Its tall buildings gleaming in the rising sun and reflecting the light into the streets, illuminating them in the warm light. People were walking through the streets, each of them minding their own business and not paying attention to each other, with either ears glued to their cell phones or their eyes watching the streets to watch the passing cars.

Truly, a great example of modern society with each person like a gear or cog in a clock to make it function at its best…

"GAAAH! I'M LATE!"

… Well, you could take your time if you weren't the one individual who was running through Domino City Park, dodging people as he made a mad dash through the slightly forested area. With a briefcase clutched in his hands, the man panted loudly as he continued to run with his shaggy brown hair (that seemed to have a few red highlights) and his red overcoat billowed with his running, "Late, late, and LATE!"

As he was turning around a tree, the man's briefcase accidentally opened up, spilling out countless papers onto the ground. The man spun around, and his eyes opened wide behind his small framed glasses, "NO! NOT NOW!"

Papers began to fly over the dirt covered ground as the glasses wearing man gave chase in an attempt to catch the papers, "I'm already late as it is! And if I lose any of these papers…"

Before the man could continue, several papers were scooped up off of the ground, making him blink a few times as he realized that someone else was picking up the papers. Turning his gaze up, the glasses wearing man saw that there was an older man dressed in a white suit picking up the papers as well. The odd thing about the older man was the fact that he was extremely pale and was almost the same shade of his white hair, as if he had never seen the sun in his entire life. '_What the?'_

Before the red coat man could continue his thoughts, the suited man lifted up the papers to the red coat wearing man, "I believe that's all of them."

With a sigh of relief, the red coat wearing man took the papers, "Thanks, you really saved my tail."

The older man sighed loudly as he crossed his arms at the younger man, "You would do well not to add more litter to this already cluttered world."

"Uh, r-right," the red coat wearing man muttered under his breath as he looked over the papers.

"I'm serious," The white haired man growled with his piercing eyes aimed directly at the younger man. "Don't destroy this world with trash! People have been doing that for ages and this world has only become more polluted and…"

The red coat wearing man was about to stop the older man's rant until he caught a peek at his watch, which reminded him of why he was even in the park in the first place…

"Gah, I really don't have the time to stay here!" The red coat wearing man yelped as he stuffed the papers into his briefcase, making sure that it was locked this time. "So thanks again, sir, but I really need to go! I have to get to the Academy's entrance examination!"

And like that, the red coat wearing man ran off, leaving the older man just standing there, '_Academy's entrance examinations?'_

That's when the older man looked down and noticed something was resting on the ground, obviously dropped by the younger man he had just spoken to. "More trash?

**TTTTTTT**

_Time: 8:50 a.m._

While in the city it was a calm day, but, at a large dome shaped arena on a large seaside cliff, several teenagers were lined up waiting for the doors to allow them entry. This was the day that would change many of their lives, the day they applied for the Central Duel Academia – Prospective and young duelists from all corners of the country gathered for a chance to be one of the lucky students to enter this academy.

But our story doesn't continue with the future students. Rather it continues with the very same red overcoat wearing man who was in the park a few minutes earlier sneaking through the halls, trying his best not to get caught. With a quick look down the hall, the red overcoat wearing man slowly inched his way towards the door that he was supposed to enter fifty minutes ago…

Checking the coast once more, the overcoat wearing man opened the door and snuck into the room. '_Success!'_

"I see you finally arrived, Professor Price."

The new professor gulped when he entered the office, his brown and red hair sticking up slightly as he turned his head towards the right. Leaning up against the wall he was looking at, was an older man, with a tall, broad stature that was covered with a blue overcoat that was similar to Price's (only with a black trim to it) and gun-metal gray pants. His chiseled face was displaying a vicious scowl that had a fang sticking out of the corner of his mouth and his dark hair (which had a blue sheen to it) was pulled back and had two spikes on the sides of his head that resembled of a canine's ears.

And with the fact that he had his arms crossed over his chest, his teeth barred like a wolf, and had his right eyebrow twitching, the red coat wearing man as almost able to feel the tension building in the air. "Uh… W-Well… Y-Yes! Yes, Professor Hund!"

"Price… Or, Rowen," Professor Hund sighed loudly as he pushed himself from the wall. "Whatever you wish to be called, I realize that it's your first official day at being a Duel Academia Professor… And while I realize that your nervousness would cause you to make mistakes, you are still a professor. That means you need to display yourself as a proper role model to the students."

Professor Hund threw his hand up towards Price, and began to lift one of his fingers to each word he spoke, "Intelligence! Punctuality! Tenacity! Creativity! Virtuous! These are the characteristics of being a successful professor…"

"Y-Yes, but my wake up call didn't come," Price chuckled nervously as he rubbed the back of his head. "And I couldn't get to sleep because I was nervous and…"

"Enough of your excuses, Price," Professor Hund sighed loudly as he turned away from the younger professor. "You're just lucky you managed to get here before we opened the main doors. I assume you still have the proper paperwork for the applicants that came from the junior high academies in your brief case, correct?"

"Y-Yes, sir!" Price replied quickly, holding up his brief case. "I… I double checked the paper work last night and everything seems in order."

"Excellent," Professor Hund admitted as he walked over to one of the tables, gesturing for Price to follow him to it. "Now, do you remember your training about our selection process for applicants, and their dormitory status?"

"Uh… It was in the handbook, right?" Price asked placing his briefcase on the table. "I… I kinda lost that."

Professor Hund rolled his eyes, "… You're lucky that the performance tests don't start until ten and that we have the other professors looking over the written examinations… And while the written exams are being calculated, we'll have the practical exams."

Price lowered his head slightly, a dark aura appearing over his body, "I can't help my bad luck, sir…"

With a shake of his head, Professor Hund sighed, "It's alright… Truth be told, you aren't the first professor to make a mistake. But anyway, it's our job to first consider the duelists who graduated from the Academy's junior high academy during this time. As you know, it's a prep school with a graduating class of fifty students roughly each year.

"For these students, we aren't responsible for testing these students' academic skills since that's what their finals are for. What we need to determine the dorms for the graduating class…"

"Uh, roughly twenty of the top students usually get into the Obelisk Blue, right?" Price replied keeping his eyes closed.

"Correct," Professor Hund replied snapping the locks open on the briefcase. "They're the only first years who are admitted into Obelisk Blue as first years. The other thirty or so students get placed into Ra Yellow, or in the extremely rare cases – Osiris Red. But that last option is a rarity, since students who do graduate the prep school often maintain high scores.

"That leaves the remaining hundred or so first year applicants…"

"Oh! I know this part really well!" Price laughed in triumph. "They get in based on the scores they receive on the entrance and practical exams, right?"

"I'm quite impressed, Price," Professor Hund replied raising an eyebrow. "Then perhaps you can tell me how many first years we admit based on the non-prep entrance examination?"

"Uh… I think its either one hundred to one hundred and ten?" Price guessed with a quizzical look on his face. "Right?"

"… Yes," Professor Hund sighed loudly. "Including the prep school graduates, that means we admit at the most one hundred and sixty students into the school a year. Determining the scores of both the written and practical examinations for the non-prep applicants, we average about twenty-five to thirty percent of the first year class will go to Ra Yellow, and the remaining seventy or so percent will be going to Osiris Red."

"Yeah… But isn't that kind of unfair?" Price asked. "I mean, the prep school applicants seem to have an…"

"Tell me something, Price," Professor Hund growled as he opened the briefcase, not bothering to look inside the contents yet. "Do you know what the golden rule is?"

"The golden rule?" Price questioned with a few question marks popping over his head.

"He who has the gold rules," Professor Hund explained reaching into the briefcase. "It's a common rule that's used in business law and most of the world… So…"

Professor Hund stopped his little explanation when his hand felt the papers in hand, "… Price…"

"Yes?"

"Would you care to explain why your papers are covered in dirt?"

"Uh… Hehehehe…" Price nervously laughed. "I… W-Well, you see sir, I um…"

"Ugh…" Professor Hund gagged pulling his hand out of the briefcase. "You should take better care of your possessions, especially if they contain important documents concerning your job.

"Now if you excuse me, I'm going to disinfect my hand before we get to work. I suggest that you empty out that briefcase and try to clean anything that you can."

"Aw man," Price moaned with his head lowered again as Professor Hund left the room, closing the door behind him. "I feel like I just keep screwing up…"

Looking into the briefcase, Price's eyes widened, "… It… It's gone… No… No! NOO!"

Price snatched up the briefcase and proceeded to dump the contents onto the floor – Papers, mechanical pencils, a magazine and what appeared to be a few granola bars fell to the carpeted floor. Shaking the briefcase a few more times, Price fell to the ground, tears starting to fall from his eyes, "… My deck… I, I knew I packed it this morning… But… It's gone…"

**0-0-0-0**

_Time: 10:05 a.m._

Putting his personal woes into the back of his head, Price was able to get his work done with Professor Hund… But the lost deck still plagued him. '_After all the time I put into it… After everything I went through with it, how could I just lose that deck? WHY!'_

"Professor Price!"

Price nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard his name called. "ACK!"

"… Yeesh," Professor Hund sighed loudly with a slap to his forehead. "You scare too easily, Price."

"I… I apologize, Professor Hund," Price muttered standing up from his seat. "I have a lot on my mind… What seems to be the problem?"

"There's no problem," Professor Hund replied crossing his arms. "I just require you to do me a favor. The written examinations have finished, and I'd like you lead then entrants in group six to their designated seats and provide explanations about the next examination. Kimchi, Ayane and the others need your help, and I need to make sure that the prep decks are all set for the examination."

"Sure… N-Not a problem," Price replied heading out of the room.

A few minutes later…

Price stood in front of a large amount of teenagers (most of them chatting with each other), with a flag that had the number six painted on it, "Greetings everyone," Price spoke in a very exhausted tone. "I'm Professor Price, and I want to welcome you to the second part of the entrance exams to Duel Academia – The Practical Examination.

"For those who don't know, allow me to explain that while in the first potion of the examination, you were all tested in your knowledge about the mathematics, history, mechanics and trivia of duel monsters. This test will test your abilities in an actual duel against one of the proctors or professors here, and combined with your written examination's score to determine which dorm you will be placed in.

"No pressure. Now, if you will all follow me, I will direct you to your designated dueling arena so you can wait for your turn against the proctors."

Spinning on his heel, Price slowly began to walk away; all of the applicants in his group began to follow him… And continue their chatter…

"He's a professor?"

"He's kind of lackluster."

"I heard that professors at Duel Academia were supposed to be as hard as nails… And that some of them are pro duelists. But this guy…"

"… I wonder if we'll be allowed to eat lunch soon…"

'_Do I really emit such an impression?'_ Price thought with the dark aura floating over his head again. '_Messing up the papers, losing my deck, and now my future students think I'm just pathetic… What a way to kick off my career as a teacher.'_

It didn't take too long for Price to lead the students to their seats – They were just the bleachers that were seated around the ground floor arenas, which allowed the students to watch the duels that were designated to take place.

Price muttered under his breath as he watched his group of applicants begin to take their seats. "… Maybe I'm just destined to be a screw up…"

"Hey!"

Price jumped once more, dropping the sign in the process, "Gah!"

"I see you're still hopeless."

'_Hopeless?'_ Price thought as he turned to the side, blinking a few times behind his glasses when he saw who was referring to him. "Hey… Aren't you…"

Standing before him, with a grim frown on his face, was the very same white suited, pale haired and skinned older man who had helped Price earlier that very morning. The only difference about him this time was that there was a suitcase in his hands, "I see you managed to get here all right, litterbug."

Price was a little dumbfounded, "You're… Why are you here?"

'_Is he a parent of one of the applicants?'_

"I am under no obligation to answer you," The older man replied with his arms crossed. "However, I find it odd to see that someone like you is a professor for young students."

"Well, I guess it's funny," Price muttered picking up the sign. "But, I don't think I'll be a very good professor… I can't really call myself a professor when I screw up so much."

The older man tilted his head up slightly, "… Oh yeah, that reminds me, you continued littering even after you left. Pick up your own clutter, this world doesn't need any more pollution in it!"

Reaching into pocket, the older man pulled out something that caught Price's attention – A small, red colored box that the older man lifted up to him. "I think this is yours."

Price's eyes widened, "It's… It's my deck case…"

"Littering isn't a good thing," the older man replied tossing the deck case to Price. "And you ran off so before you could be stopped to pick it up I thought I'd find you here."

'… _Did he come here just to return the deck to me?'_ Price thought opening the deck case to see the cards inside it.

"You should be more careful," the teen stated, making Price jump once more. "A human should take care of the planet and not be so careless about dropping such garbage."

Price blinked a few times at the older man, that's something you don't normally hear, even in a Duel Academia. "Uh well, thanks…"

"Professor Price."

Price turned his attentions towards the right, seeing Professor Hund walk up to the new professor, his arms folded behind his back, "It's about time for the practical exams to begin, and we need to discuss some final preparations."

"Y-Yes sir!" Price yelped before began to turn towards the white suited man. "T-Thank you for…"

But that's when Price realized that the man was gone. "Huh?"

Professor Hund cleared his throat, making Price jump slightly to realize that the older professor was walking away. When Price managed to catch up to Hund, the older professor spoke, "… So, getting to know your future students, Price?"

"Y-You could say that," Price replied rubbing the back of his head.

"Although, you should be careful not to linger," Professor Hund continued crossing his arms. "Are you getting nervous for today?"

"Oh… It… It was nothing, sir," Price answered, standing up straight. "I just well…"

"I see…" Professor Hund muttered rubbing his chin. "It doesn't matter. What does matter though is that there's a problem we'll have to deal with."

"What do you mean, sir?" Price asked as the two continued their walk.

"After you left, I had to take a phone call," Professor Hund answered with his eyes narrowed. "And it seems that I dropped my guard… An applicant seemed to have snuck into the office while I took my phone call and swiped a few papers that had the deck lists I had printed out for the proctors. They were to inform the proctors and professors about the test decks in the practical examination."

"I… I don't know what to say," Price gasped. "W… What are we supposed to do then?"

"What else?" Professor Hund replied, hurrying his stride. "By now I figure that the list might be circulating through out the applicants, and they're possibly preparing to counter them. Therefore, I have contacted Headmaster Nanbu about this situation.

"And he has told me while we're not allowed to use our own decks; we are required to access the level three decks."

"What?" Price gasped as the two reached the hallway. "But those are supposed to be used for promotion examinations, sir and…"

"This is an order, Price," Professor Hund barked with his eyes narrowed. "If it were up to me, we'd only access the level two decks, since there's not much difference between levels one and two… But the headmaster was insistent about his decision. Besides, we will be grading on a curve with this new development. So it might just be in the best interest for the students, if they win against the decks, then they'll get a higher grade."

Price just stood there dumbfounded, watching as Professor Hund continued his trek back to the office, "… Price, hurry it up! We only have a few minutes until the practical exams begin!"

"C-Coming sir!"

**TTTTTTTT**

_Time: 10:30 a.m._

In one of the proctor's rooms, several proctors were leafing through the testing decks that they had to choose from. The examinations were only a few minutes away, and Price was a little nervous – Not only because of the fact that he'd have to duel against a student soon, but it would be with an unknown deck that was made for testing a student who was to transfer dorms.

Needless to say, for the young professor this was way too stressful for him. At least it couldn't get any worse.

"Price," a familiar gruff voice sounded, making the younger professor raise his head up. "It's time."

"I… I see," Price sighed with a frog in his throat. "So, how does this work? Do we select a few duelists from our proctor list and…"

"In a sense," Hund answered holding up a deck of cards towards Price. "Here's the deck you've been assigned to use in your first entrance duel. And we've determined who you'll be dueling against in your first match."

"Oh?" Price muttered rubbing the back of his head. "So, who am I dueling?"

"Entrant number one," Hund answered bluntly. "Eiji Hidari graduated the top of his class in academics at the prep school, he has promise to be the number one student in the freshman class and we've decided to pit him against you."

"W-What?" Price sputtered. "Then why am I dueling against him then? Would he be more suited against dueling someone who has more experience dueling in entrance exams?"

"Although that is true," Hund replied with his arms crossed. "Think of this more of a test for you as well. We have to know that you are capable of dueling in these conditions. You don't have to win, but we just wish to see your adaptability Price. So, either adapt or quit."

"That's a little harsh…" Price muttered with a large sweatdrop rolling down the side of his head. "Don't you think?"

"This world was built to be harsh," Hund answered back. "Price, this is to see how you stack up with the rest of us. If you can't hold your own against a student, then you'll look weak to the student body."

That really seemed to help with Price's fleeting confidence.

"Oh yes, that reminds me," Hund stated holding up a set of other cards to Price. "Here, you'll be needing these with that deck as well."

Price blinked a few times at the small stack of cards.

**TTTTT**

_Time: 10:45 a.m._

Meanwhile, up in the student stands, a single duelist was watching Arena Seven, adjusting the red scarf he had over his white uniform (which had blue trim on it). "… Something isn't right…"

"Oh? And what would make you say that?"

The scarf wearing man didn't even have to turn his head as a red haired young woman sauntered up next to him. Unlike the man, she was dressed in a red vest and black skirt, although, it was in the same design as the scarf man's uniform, "I thought you said you'd show me the ropes of this academy…"

"These are the ropes, my fiery beauty," the scarf wearing man admitted with a smirk. "Besides, you were more than welcomed to stay at the island if you wanted to…"

"Yeah, but then I'd get stuck with that shorty," the red haired girl huffed as she sat down, dangling her thin legs over the side of the ledge. "Sure he gets cute when he gets angry, but that can only go so far. Sides, you've got that mysterious handsome charm going on… But anyway, what were you saying?"

"It's just something in the air," the scarf wearing man answered. "Feels like the calm before the storm or something like that."

"Yeesh, is that really such a bad thing?" the girl yawned as she ran a hand through her fiery red hair. "I mean, it's the first duels of the year, of course there's going to be tension."

"But there's a little more to it," The scarf wearing man replied, gesturing towards the dueling grounds. "Take this for example, the first proctor dueling is the new professor – And look who he's dueling against."

The girl turned her attention towards the arena that sat on the on the main floor of the testing grounds. On one side was Price shuffling the deck he was assigned, while on the other side of the area a young man in his mid-teens walked out onto the dueling field. He had combed back, yet loose cerulean colored hair that kept out of his confident and sharp face. His slim body was covered with a green jacket that resembled that of the uniform that Price was wearing, only was left wide open to reveal a pair of black pants and a black shirt that seemed to have a shattered glass design on it…

… Actually, it looked more like a web.

"Is that the Eiji guy you told me about?" The girl asked with a frown on her face. "He's got that superiority thing going on, but other than that, he doesn't seem all that interesting."

"I suppose so," the scarf wearing man replied as he stroked the scarf on his neck. "I had thought since he did so well in the prep school that he'd be a good candidate for this little group of ours."

"Meh, I'm not too fond of the group so far," the girl sighed loudly with a shake of her head. "I'm glad you're in it, but dealing with that shorty is a job in and of itself."

The scarf wearing man just chuckled in reply, "Just bear with it for now, it'll all be worth it in the big picture."

Meanwhile, down on the duel arena, the youth known as Eiji Hidari eyed Price with a leer that was as cold as a winter's night. Price could feel the chill run down his spine with every moment that the younger man cast his glare at the young professor, '_Is there something on my face?'_

"Man," Eiji moaned loudly as he threw his arms behind his head in disgust. "What a letdown."

"Huh?" Price questioned with a large bead of sweat rolling down the side of his head.

"They're pairing me up with some no name professor?" Eiji spoke out loud, not really caring that Price was listening to his monologue. "This is going to be way too easy for a guy like me. Putting me up against a new professor is just sad and insulting to me."

'_He does know I'm standing here, right?'_ Price thought to himself.

"Oh well," Eiji sighed as he lifted his left arm up, revealing the duel disk on his arm. "I guess I should take this to heart that this academy is just going to be as easy as prep school was. So, feel honored Professor, you're about to be a footstep on my path to glory!"

Price tilted his head to the side, "Well, at least you're dead set on your goals, that's always good promise to see in a student and…"

"Blah, blah, blah," Eiji insulted with his hand making the motion for a person speaking. "That's all I'm hearing professor! Just raise your duel disk and draw your cards!"

Price sighed again, "At least introduce myself first. I am Professor Rowen Price and…"

"I know the drill," Eiji spat as his duel disk activated, lighting up the device at the same time. "So quit wasting my time, Teach, and duel! The faster I hand you your loss, the faster I can get to the academy!" (ELP: 8000)

"Well, that's understandable," Price replied fitting the selected deck into his duel disk (apparently he didn't really qualify for the Duel Bandoleer when he graduated from the academy). "Well then as the student you get to choose who will…" (PLP: 8000)

"Just shut up and draw!" Eiji growled with a roll of his eyes as he pulled up his first five cards. "I'd rather get the first attack in rather than get the first draw anyway."

Price didn't know if he was to applaud the student for being direct or scold him for insulting the professor. Although, technically, Price wasn't the student's professor yet, but he just shook his head from that line of thought and drew his six cards. '_I didn't really get a chance to look through this deck, but from what I can tell, it looks like a standard deck.'_

Taking a card from his hand, Price slapped the card onto his duel disk, making a face down monster appear in front of the young professor, "One set monster and one set card! Turn end!"

"At least your quick with your opening move," Eiji muttered as he drew from the top of his deck. "That's one good thing, I guess. But let me show you a real opening move! I summon Blazewing Butterfly in attack mode!"

A powerful flame erupted in front of Eiji, immediately reforming itself to transform into what appeared to be a pair of fiery butterfly wings that had a small golden insectoid body in the midst of the fiery wings (1500/1500). "Next, I'll play the spell card Insect Imitation!"

The moment that Eiji fitted the card into his duel disk, the Blazewing Butterfly shattered like glass, allowing multiple embers to float around Eiji as he pulled out the deck from his duel disk and fanned the cards in front of him, "I doubt you'd know what this card can do, so I'll explain slowly for ya. By tributing a monster on my field, I can special summon an insect monster from my deck who's exactly one level higher than the monster I tributed.

"In this case, I can summon a level five insect from my deck! So, arise, Grasschopper!"

The ground began to surge until a large green exoskeleton covered mantis appeared in front of Eiji, revealing two large blade-like forearms that the insect crossed a few times before it hissed loudly (2350/1000).

"Now then, let's see what sort of tricks you've got hidden under that face down monster!" Eiji laughed as he threw his hand forward. "Grasschopper! Attack his face down monster!"

The large mantis screeched loudly before it charged over the field, stabbing both of its bladed forearms into the face down monster, revealing a large stone giant that couched down (1300/2000) with its massive arms falling to the side due to the precise slashes of the Grasschopper's attack.

"A Giant Soldier of Stone?" Eiji questioned watching Price fit the card into his duel disk's graveyard. "Someone's actually running a deck with that card in it? That's pathetic, even for a guy like you."

"This isn't my deck you know," Price pointed out.

"Whatever," Eiji scoffed as he fitted two cards into his duel disk, both of them materializing in front of the youth. "I'll just set these two cards face down, and end my turn. Come on Teach, you gotta have something with a little fight in it in that pathetic deck of yours."

Price narrowed his brow slightly, this wasn't his deck, but still that didn't call for Eiji to keep insulting Price. But slowly, Price drew from the deck and then lifted his hand up towards his face down card, "I activate my trap card – Soul Resurrection! Now, I get a normal monster back from the graveyard, and play it in defense mode!"

The ground in front of Price began to glow brightly and allow the Giant Soldier of Stone to rematerialize in front of the young professor (1300/2000). "Normally, this would be used in a defensive tactic, but for now we'll be using it in a familiar method of summoning! Tributing!"

The Giant Soldier of Stone transformed into a bright orb of light that flew into the air until finally it shattered into a large earth brown colored armored being to crash into the ground in front of Price. The armored monster stood up straight when it finally recovered from its crash, using its large arms and fists to help support its massive body (2400/1000). "Granmarg the Rock Monarch! And when summoned successfully by tributing…"

"You get to destroy one face down spell or trap card on the field," Eiji interrupted with a loud yawn. "Please, there were so many people in the prep school who ran Monarch decks that I know each of their effects by heart. So just make your choice Teach, and get it over with."

"Fine, I'll choose the card on the right!" Price announced, pointing his finger towards the card on his right.

Granmarg stomped over the field and slammed his large fist into the face down card, shattering the card.

"Congratulations," Eiji sighed as he combed his hand through his hair. "You destroyed my Scrap-Iron Scarecrow, whatever shall I do now?"

Price raised an eyebrow at Eiji's proclamation, but shook it off, "Granmarg! Smash his Grasschopper!"

Spinning around, the large rock monarch slammed both of his fists into the large grasshopper, smashing it into the ground until it shattered into several green shards. (ELP: 7950)

However, Eiji just yawned as he fitted the card into his graveyard slot, "Bravo, you drew only fifty life points out from me, so bravo again. Too bad that'll be the only damage that you'll get from your own accord."

Price blinked a few times at Eiji's arrogance, but shook the thought from his head as he fitted a card into his duel disk, "I set one card face down and end my turn."

"About time," Eiji scoffed as he nearly ripped the top card from his deck. "Now, how about I show you a real move, Teach? I play the spell card – Dark World Dealings!"

The spell card appeared in front of Eiji, allowing the duelist to swiftly draw from the top of his deck, "Now, we both get to draw one card, all for the cost of discarding one card later. So draw, Teach."

Price nodded as he quickly drew from his deck and blinked a few times at the card he drew, '_What the? Why would this be in a rock deck? I know that this deck was supposed to be for a higher level, but a card like this would be useless in a regular rock deck. And why would there be an extra deck to a Rock deck either?'_

"Earth to Teach," Eiji chuckled holding up one of the cards from his hand. "You going to discard a card, or are you going to just stand their posing for a statue?"

"Uh, right!" Price yelped as he held up the card from his hand. "I discard Black Stego."

"Black Stego?" Eiji muttered with a raised eyebrow. "What the hell is that doing in there?"

"I, uh," Price mumbled as he fitted the card into his graveyard slot. "I don't know."

"Figures," Eiji sighed as he fitted a card into his duel disk. "Allow me to show you how someone really does this. I discard Gigaplant, and then I'll activate my trap card – Birthright!"

Eiji's face down card lifted up, allowing a powerful flame to erupt from the card and reforming into the fiery Blazewing Butterfly (1500/1500) that screeched loudly. "Since my monster's considered a normal monster in the graveyard and on the field, I can use this trap to help out. But don't think I'm done yet, I activate the spell card Unleash Your Power!"

A the flames on the Blazewing Butterfly's body began to surge brightly, lighting up the entire field in the wing's warm glow. "Now, all Gemini monsters gain their effects! Since you're a teacher, I don't think I have to tell you what a Gemini monster is capable of, especially this one! By tributing my Blazewing, I can special summon another Gemini monster from my graveyard.

"However, this one will have its effect activated immediately!"

The Blazewing Butterfly shattered into millions of embers that crashed into the ground, "And so, I'll choose the monster I just discarded – Gigaplant!"

The very moment that the embers landed on the ground, several vines erupted from the earth, immediately wrapping around each other until they formed into a monster that resembled a gigantic Venus Fly-Trap that had a red fanged bulb and several vines that acted as insectoid limbs. The large plant screeched loudly as it finally finished forming (2400/1200). "And this monster's Gemini power is quite powerful, allowing me to once per turn to summon an Insect or Plant-Type monster from either my hand or my graveyard.

"I'll opt for the graveyard! Return my Grasschopper!"

Several vines erupted from the Gigaplant's body, and immediately dug into the ground as it immediately pulled out the large mantis-like monster from the ground (2350/1000), allowing it to screech loudly in triumphant return!

"Next, I think I'll empower my monsters by playing the field spell card – Forest!"

As Eiji fitted the card into his field card zone, several trees, bushes, and logs surrounded the two duelists and the three monsters that were on the field, however, the two monsters on Eiji's field seemed to screech loudly in joy (2400/1200 + 200/200) (2350/1000 + 200/200). "It's an old card, but its thanks to this, both of my monsters are geared to begin my assault! Grasschopper! Attack Granmarg! Get your revenge!"

The large mantis screeched loudly before it dashed across the forest covered arena and brought down both of its bladed forearms down on the Rock Monarch's body, slicing it in two even pieces. (PLP: 7850)

"And let's not forget about my Gigaplant either!" Eiji laughed as he threw his hand forward. "He should have some fun with this battle as well!"

The large plant monster screeched loudly before several vines erupted from the Gigaplant's body and slammed directly into Price's body, making him stagger back. "URK!" (PLP: 5450)

"Come on Teach, I didn't hit you that hard," Eiji chuckled as he slapped a card onto his duel disk. "Suck it up! I set one monster face down and end my turn!"

Price took a deep breath as he drew from the top of his deck, "Right, right, you're right."

Price looked at the card, '_What in the world? This card is… Now I see what this deck is capable of. I guess this is meant for a higher level duelist. I am sorry Eiji, but as a Professor and Proctor I need to…'_

"Hey! Four-eyes! Are you planning on making a move?" Eiji spat, leaning forward slightly. "Or are you going to just give me my win so I can get to the academy already?"

That last comment made Eiji narrow his eyes slightly as he pulled another card from his hand, "Very well, Mister Hidari, if you want me to be serious, then I shall get serious. I activate the spell card – The Stealthy Graverobber!"

A ghostly shadow immediately appeared at Price's feet and reached into his graveyard slot, pulling out a single monster card from the device. "This spell card allows me to select one monster card in my graveyard and put it in yours. Then I'm allowed to draw another card from my deck.

"The monster I choose will be Black Stego, so here!"

The shadow immediately handed the card to Price, who at the exact second threw the card towards Eiji. The card spun through the air until Eiji lifted his hand up and caught the card between his fingers, "Now you're giving me useless cards? What's the point of that?"

Price quickly drew from the top of his deck, but then reached for another card in his hand, "Actually, I was wondering what the point of this deck was myself not too long ago, but now I actually understand it! I activate the spell card – Fossil Fusion!"

"Fossil… What?" Eiji questioned as a large vortex appeared on the ground in between the two duelists.

"Fusion," Price corrected as he reached into his duel disk's graveyard slot once more. "You see, unlike its predecessor, Fossil Fusion is a rare kind of fusion that allows its player to fuse a monster from his graveyard and one from his opponent. And unlike other fusions, the only requirement is that the monsters be of the listed type and sometimes level.

"So, by removing the Giant Soldier of Stone from my graveyard and the Black Stego that I removed from yours…"

Eiji's eyes widened as his graveyard slot glowed brightly, allowing a ghostly version of a large black scaled stegosaurus to appear in front of him while the deceased Giant Soldier of Stone appeared in front of Price. "I can summon a beast that has survived the ravages of time!"

Both monsters were sucked into the vortex that immediately melted into the forested ground. For a few seconds, everything was calm and quiet until the ground shattered! Instantly, a large dinosaur like monster, covered with rusted over armor and a dinosaur-like skull freed itself from the confines of the earth, roaring loudly in triumph (2500/0). "Fossil Dragon Skullgar!"

"Not bad teach, but you forgot one thing," Eiji chuckled as he held his hands up to reveal the holographic forest. "You're in my domain! As long as the forest remains standing, my monsters will not fall!"

"Therefore," Price added as he slipped two cards into his duel disk. "I shall set two cards face down, and end my turn."

'_Not even going for my face down monster, eh? Fine, not like I need to use it anyway,'_ Eiji thought as he quickly drew from the top of his deck. '_If he thinks that I'm going to fall for those little tricks, he's dead wrong. I know that he wants me to attack with my monsters, then he'll spring with Mirror Force or even Magic Cylinder to counter my attacks._

'_Well, like I said, I'm not falling for it.'_

"Sorry teach, but such mundane tricks aren't going to work on me!" Eiji laughed as he held up the card he drew. "Cause ya see, I just drew the magical charms of Mystical Space Typhoon! Now, one of your face down cards will be destroyed this turn! Only question is, which one will it be? Left or right?"

For a moment Price and Eiji's eyes locked on each other, not moving for a few seconds… At least until Price turned his gaze towards the right for a few seconds, making Eiji smirk. "Heh, I think I have my choice! I choose to the one on the left!"

Eiji slipped the card into his duel disk, making a powerful cyclone erupt from the device and fly through the air, instantly crashing into the set card and sending it flying through the air to reveal a dark pink colored card before it shattered, '_Heh, just as I thought, a trap card!'_

"Now then, I'll set another monster face down," Eiji continued as the set monster appeared in front of him. "And then, I'll enact Gigaplant's effect once more! Arise my Blazewing Butterfly!"

A powerful flame erupted from the ground, instantly reforming into the screeching fire winged butterfly (1500/1500 + 200/200). "Next, I'll go straight into my battle phase and actually get started on ending this duel! Gigaplant! Send his pile of bones right back to the graveyard!"

Screeching loudly, the large man-eating plant had several vines erupt from its stomach area and snapped them towards Skullgar.

"I activate my spell card!" Price announced as the last card on his field flipped up, revealing a green bordered card that depicted a duel monster card undergoing some 'alternations'. "Code Change! I select Forest and declare rock!"

The spell card glowed brightly, and yet nothing seemed to happen to the field spell, making Eiji laugh loudly, "Ha! Your spell card didn't do a damn thing teach! Continue with the assault!"

The vines continued their assault towards Skullgar, but, the fossilized monster merely lifted its claws up and caught the vines, surprising both Eiji and the Gigaplant. Even more so, Skullgar spun slightly and pulled on the vines, making the Gigaplant screech out in pain as its roots were slowly being pulled from out of the ground. Then with one final pull, Skullgar yanked the Gigaplant into the air, and immediately slammed it back into the ground. (ELP: 7650)

Needless to say, Eiji's eyes widened when he watched one of his more powerful shatter right in front of his eyes, "I… I… What did you do to my monster?"

"It's what my spell did," Price explained, gesturing towards the Code Change card. "A lot of players enjoy using monster types in their duels, and I guess this card was added as an attempt to use that to its advantage. Since your forest empowers insects, beasts, plants and beast-warriors, my spell card allows me to change that. For the time being, your forest spell empowers only Rock-Type monsters, which in turn not only empowered Skullgar, but it also lowered the attack points of all your monsters as well."

"Well isn't that just peachy!" Eiji snapped as he looked to his Grasschopper (2350/1000) and Blazewing Butterfly (1500/1500). '_Damn it! I should've waited to summon! Then I could've used Blazewing to bring back Gigaplant and then summoned Blazewing right back to the field!_

'_But, I've still got a contingency plan left. Besides, with my field spell working against me, he'd just be able to destroy Gigaplant next turn. And the odds of him drawing another monster to take out Blazewing are hard to tell as well…'_

"I choose to end my turn by switching Grasschopper to defense mode."

As the large mantis like monster crouched down, a green aura erupted over both it (2550/1200) and the Blazewing Butterfly (1500/1500 + 200/200), increasing their strengths, "Wait, what the?"

"My Code Change only works for one turn I'm afraid," Price explained with a slightly embarrassed smile. "After all, it's a quick-play spell that can change a card, so, it has its limitations I'm afraid."

"You bastard," Eiji sneered through his clenched teeth. "You knew it was going to be like that!"

"Well, I didn't say the effects were permanent, you know?" Price chuckled sheepishly with a blush on his face. "I apologize if it was confusing to explain."

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!" Eiji snarled with his hand raised in the air. "That's important information that needs to be delivered to the student!"

"I told you how my card works," Price replied as he drew. "And as I heard, were you not the top duelist in the prep school? If that was the case, then I would figure that you'd know what a majority of the cards that I'm using are capable of."

"Urk!" Eiji yelped as he staggered back slightly.

"Now, if you'll excuse me," Price stated as he looked at the card in his hand. "It's my move and I plan on using it to the best of my ability, Mr. Hidari. So, I'll remove Granmarg from the graveyard in order to summon the Gigantes from my hand!"

A loud roar blasted through the air, instantly allowing a large ogre like monster to crash into the ground right next to Skullgar, wielding a large dead tree single handedly (1900/1300). "Now then, Skullgar! Attack his Blazewing!"

Skullgar roared loudly before it ran across the field and slammed its skull armored head into the larger butterfly's body, shattering it into millions of embers (ELP: 6850)

"And Gigantes! You are to attack as well!" Price commanded as he threw his hand forward. "Your target is the Grasschopper!"

Stomping forward, the large ogre slammed the log/club into the large grasshopper monster and sent it flying. Price lifted his hand up over his eyes and whistled, "Wow! That's gotta be a home run!"

"If your jokes are this bad," Eiji snarled as he drew from the top of his deck. "I'd hate to be a student in your classes then!"

That seemed to stab Price right in the heart when he heard that, making tears appear in the corners of his eyes, "Oh…"

'_I can't even get a good read on this guy,'_ Eiji thought as he looked at the spell card in his hand. '_One minute he's nothing more than a pathetic parody of a duelist, the next he's able to completely destroy my Gemini Combo, and now he's back to being a sniveling pathetic man!_

'_But that's fine, if he wants to play hardball, I'll be more than glad to be the one to teach him a lesson'._

"First off, Teach," Eiji announced as he fitted the card he drew into his duel disk. "I'm going to set a spell card face down, and then, I'm going to flip face up my Morphing Jar!"

The face down monster on Eiji's field flipped up, forming into a large gray jar that was covered with dust. That's when a loud laugh echoed through the air as the jar fell forward to reveal a large eye and mouth filled with yellow teeth inside the jar (700/600). "I realize that this card doesn't fit well with insect decks, but it's a powerful card that can help in almost any deck, especially since I don't have any cards in my hand!"

"You realize I don't have that many cards in my hand as well, right?" Price pointed out as he lifted up the single card in his hand before he fitted it into his duel disk's graveyard slot.

"You'd still get five cards either way," Eiji replied as he fanned off the top five cards from his deck while Price did the same. "As long as I'm concerned, it's a small price to pay for hand refreshment."

Looking at the five cards in his hand, Eiji's smirk began to reappear on his face, "And now for my conquest. I'll start by activating the spell card I had set just a few moments ago – Monster Gate! I'll be tributing my Morphing Jar, which allows me to pick up cards from my deck until I pull a monster from my deck.

"And if that monster can be normal summoned, I can summon it immediately!"

Eiji plucked off the top card from his deck, instantly allowing a spell card to appear over his head (Multiplication of Ants). "Spell…"

Eiji pulled another card, allowing another card to appear over his head, this one an hot pink bordered card (Parasite Worm), "Trap…"

And pulling the third card from his deck, an orange card appeared, "And finally, a monster! So, say hello to the mighty Pinchhopper!"

All three of the cards over Eiji's head shattered like glass, instantly allowing a large green exoskeleton covered grasshopper to appear amongst the holographic forest (1200/1000 + 200/200). "And I couldn't have asked for anything better!"

"Indeed, for if your hopper is destroyed," Price explained with his hand held up. "You can instantly summon an insect from your hand, regardless of its level. It's a standard card to have in an insect deck."

"Glad to see you agree with me, teach!" Eiji announced as he turned around a card in his hand. "Cause now, I'm activating the spell card, one called Insect Costume! Now, I have to send one insect from my hand to the graveyard – Like my second Blazewing Butterfly, but in return, I can add any insect type monster from my deck and add it to my hand."

Several holographic cards appeared in front of Eiji, allowing the young student to eye the cards before he lifted his finger up, "I believe I'll choose this one."

The moment that Eiji placed his finger on the holographic card, his duel disk began to beep loudly. Holding his hand up to his duel disk, Eiji caught the single card that he had selected and tucked it into his hand before he held up his hand towards his Pinchhopper, "And for my spell card's final trick, I have to destroy one insect monster on my field."

The Pinchhopper screeched loudly before it shattered into millions of pixels that flew through the air, "And like ya said teach, when destroyed, I get to summon any insect that I've got in my hand. So, I'll choose the mighty – Brain Crusher!"

The remaining pixels of the Pinchhopper began to merge into a large daunting form that squirmed and slithered until it amassed into a large insect with a long neck and several legs with a purple exoskeleton. Several wings sprouted from the insect's back as its long thin clawed arms reached forward towards its next target (2400/1500 +200/200).

"And I haven't even started yet!" Eiji announced as he pulled two cards from his graveyard, revealing the Blazewing Butterfly and Grasschopper. "I can now remove two insects from play in order to summon…"

"Doom Dozer, right?" Price guessed as he pushed up his glasses.

"Don't steal my lines!" Eiji snarled as he slapped the card onto his duel disk, making the ground rumble greatly before it shattered into unleash a gigantic red and black armored millipede with several mandibles from its head (2800/2600 + 200/200). "Yes, it's Doom Dozer, and its going to destroy everything you've got! First off, Brain Crusher! Destroy his Skullgar!"

The large mutated insect stomped over the field and immediately screeched loudly before it unleashed a large amount of purple liquid from its mouth over the fossil dragon's body, melting the large rock monster's body into the ground. (PLP: 5350)

"A good decision," Price pointed out as he fitted the monster card into his duel disk's discard slot. "However, I should point out my monster can't be special summoned except by Fossil Fusion, so your Brain Crusher's effect cannot come into play."

"Like I really care," Eiji chuckled as he snapped his fingers, making the Doom Dozer rush across the field, instantly allowing the large insect to coil around the Gigantes. "I'm more interested in destroying your monsters, sides, they'd only slow me down if I got them! Doom Dozer! Eliminate!"

And, in one second, the mighty Doom Dozer constricted its body and crushed the Gigantes into millions of pixels. (PLP: 4250)

"And when you take damage," Eiji chuckled as a small surge of static electricity flowed through Price's duel disk. "My Doom Dozer forces you to discard the top two cards from your deck!"

Price merely shrugged as he pulled off the top two cards from his deck and fitted them into his duel disk. "Yes, but you realize that I too have an effect to enact, correct?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know all about your Gigantes' effect," Eiji sighed with a wave of his hand in the air as his Forest field spell disappeared, removing the power bonus from his two monsters (2800/2600) (2400/1500). "But frankly, that doesn't matter. I've got two powerhouses out on the field, and both of them are ready and raring to beat ya into the ground!

"Besides, better to get rid of that monster version of Heavy Storm out of the way when I only had one spell out. Now I can safely play all the spells and traps that I want! Like this one! I activate the continuous spell card – Verdant Sanctuary!"

Several vines, dead logs and fungi began to spring up around Eiji's side of the field, eliciting a pair of soft growls from his two towering insect monsters. "Next, I'll set one card face down as well, and I'll set another monster face down, turn end!"

'_Thanks to my spell card, if he manages to destroy either of my face up monsters, I can add another monster of the same level from my deck perhaps another Doom Dozer or another level eight or level seven insect. And my two face down monsters are Flying Kamakiri 1 and Howling Insect, so, I'll be able to get plenty of fodder in my graveyard!_

'_And my face down trap card is Call of the Haunted, and it'll only take a single push of a button to summon Gigaplant, and then I can get my rush back into full swing again!'_

"I have to say, you certainly have a knack for bouncing back, Mr. Hidari," Price commented as he drew from the top of his deck. "You've managed to hold your own against this deck and managed to garner yourself an advantage on the field."

"Heh, it helps when my opponent can't use that deck to its full power," Eiji snickered as he crossed his arms. "Seriously, I would've expected a better duel from Professor Hund. From what I heard he's a prodigy and was instantly made the headmaster of the Blue Dorm, defeating his predecessor on his first day! And if I was able to beat him for my entrance examination, then I would've been able to get my name around the entire academy!

"But no, I get stuck dealing with a damn no-name rookie professor. So take your turn so I can get this duel out of the way and get to the academy!"

Price sighed loudly as she slumped forward slightly, "Uh, I know that I'm not technically your professor yet, but could you at least show a little respect? I will become your professor and…"

"Tell ya what, teach," Eiji snickered with a devilish smirk on his face. "How about you just end your turn right now and let me finish you off? Then I can just get into Obelisk Blue immediately and then we can get this tedious duel out of the way?

"Or you can struggle and put up some sort of defense that will ultimately fail against me."

"I… I well," Price staggered adjusting his glasses slightly.

"Are you even cut out for this?" Eiji spat.

Price's eyes widened behind his glasses, making him raise his hand to his face. This went unnoticed by Eiji who turned his head to the side and continued his verbal onslaught, "Seriously, you may have gotten some good moves in, but I consider those nothing more than cheap shots. Besides, I'm at the top of my class, I'm a man destined to be king, and I have no intention of letting some professor who's wet behind the ears stop me from achieving my destiny!"

Taking a deep breath, Price carefully removed his glasses from his face and folded them at the collar of his shirt, revealing that his eyes were now sharp and narrowed down, "Eiji Hidari, I can honestly respect your strength and your determination…

"And this may be my first day as a Duel Academia Professor, so, I might make mistakes – But know this, this isn't my first day as a duelist. I've seen strategies like yours, and I've faced against some tiresome strategies at the same time. So, if you won't respect me as a professor, then respect me as a duelist.

"But I know I can't earn your respect just like that, I have to show you that I am an excellent duelist! And I'll start with the spell card Foolish Grave!"

Like with Eiji's deck, several cards appeared in front of Price, allowing his narrowed eyes to trail over the cards until he pointed to a single card, "I'm willing to bet that you've heard of the card, Foolish Burial, right?"

"Duh," Eiji sighed with a shake of his head. "It allows you to send a monster from your deck to the graveyard, it's a very useful card that can be used for several kinds of decks. But this spell card is news to me."

"Actually, this spell card allows me to discard a monster my deck," Price explained with a smirk on his face as a card popped out of his deck and into his hand. "But unlike its predecessor, it sends the monster I select to your graveyard instead."

Price held up the card and immediately tossed the card towards Eiji, allowing the student catch the card in his finger tips, "… Gilford the Lightning? Seriously, this deck of yours is all over the place. I can understand the dinosaur monster in your deck, but this is a warrior! You talk about being a duelist, but I know for a fact that to be a good duelist, you should at least have decent cards!"

"How right you are," Price retorted as he held up a card from his hand. "So, I'll activate a good card for this deck, Guidance to Ore!"

As Price fitted the card into his duel disk, a large coal mine appeared behind the new professor, "Next, I'll set one monster in defense mode, and I'll set one card face down. Turn end."

The two set cards appeared in front of Price as he crossed his arms and lowered his head slightly.

Eiji rolled his eyes, "Ya know, after a speech like that, I would've expected a kick ass monster, or even a spell like Dark Hole or even something more dramatic. But no, you're just playing a pair of spell cards and turning into a turtle strategy. I'll be glad to challenge your proclamation!"

Snapping his next card up from his deck, Eiji looked at the card, '_Hmm, I didn't draw a monster, and I'd rather not put my defenses in harm's way. Cause I don't know what he's got face down._

'_But that doesn't mean I don't have any ideas for how to deal with his cards. Besides, even if his face down card is something like Mirror Force, it'll only help me out!'_

"Brain Crusher!" Eiji announced as he threw his hand forward. "Destroy his face down monster!"

The large mutated insect stomped over the field and threw both of its clawed forearms into the face down monster, shattering the card while lifting up the monster that it had hidden underneath it – A large golem like monster that was covered with green bulky armor with a pair of spikes on its back (1000/1900). The large insect hissed loudly before it ripped the golem into millions of pieces. "Heh, is that the best defense you could come up with?"

Eiji continued to gloat, unaware that five small green metallic discs began to roll at his feet, "Seriously, what is going on through that head of yours and…"

Before Eiji could continue, the discs rolled up against his feet, making the young prodigy look down at his feet just as the five disks began to gleam brightly! "Huh?"

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!

"GAH!" Eiji roared as the five discs exploded around him, making him stagger about the holographic flames. (ELP: 6350)

"Oh yeah, the monster you just destroyed was Mine Golem," Price pointed out as he pulled the deck from his duel disk. "And when destroyed, you take five hundred points of damage. It works quite well with my spell card too, since whenever a rock monster is destroyed, I can special summon another one with the same name from my deck."

Price selected his card from his deck and immediately slapped the card onto his duel disk, making a second Mine Golem appear in front of him, its arms crossed over its chest while it knelt down (1000/1900).

Meanwhile, the holographic smoke was rolling off of Eiji's body, revealing a very annoyed look on his face, "Like that'll really work against me! Once again, all you've pulled is another cheap shot!"

"Then you won't mind if I pull another," Price chuckled as he pushed a button on his duel disk. "I activate the trap card – Rock Bombardment!"

Reaching for his deck once more, Price pulled out a single monster and turned it around to reveal a monster called Monk Fighter (1300/1000) before he fitted it into his duel disk's graveyard slot, "Now, since I discarded a rock monster from my deck, I can blast away another five hundred points!"

A large shadow appeared over Eiji's body, making the young student look up with his eyes widening at the sight of a large boulder falling at breakneck speed towards him. However, the moment his legs started moving, the boulder landed on Eiji with a comical splat sound filling the air. (ELP: 5850)

A moment passed and the boulder disappeared, revealing that Eiji was laying on the ground with his annoyed look having evolved into a look of pure bloodlust, "… Are you done with your cheap shots and bluffs? Cause I'm going to make you pay for each and every one of them."

Eiji leapt to his feet and held up one of the cards in his hand, "Now then, I think I'll start by turning your advantage into a disadvantage! You think you're safe since you've got that Mine Golem? Dead wrong!

"I activate the spell card – Enemy Controller!"

A large game controller appeared in front of Eiji, with the game chord flying across the field and into the Mine Golem's chest, "Up! Up! Down! Down! Left! Right! Left! Right! B! A! Start!"

The buttons on the game controller began to move in accordance to the commands that Eiji announced, instantly making the Mine Golem stand up straight and uncross his arms, "And thanks to the Konami Code, I can make your monster stand up to attack mode! Meaning its wide open for my Doom Dozer's attack!"

The large insectoid monster rushed over the field and coiled around the Mine Golem's body before it constricted and crushed the golem into several pieces of rock. (PLP: 2450)

Price stepped back before he threw his hand forward, "Yes, but you forget, my Mine Golem still pulls off another five hundred points of damage from your life points!"

Several small explosions rocked over Eiji's field, making the young duelist grit his teeth, "Please! Like that'll actually make a difference!" (ELP: 5350)

"It will," Price announced as he slapped a card onto his duel disk, making a third Mine Golem appear before him (1000/1900). "Thanks to Guidance to Ore, I can summon the final Mine Golem."

"Heh, yeah, and I'm going to activate my trap card," Eiji chuckled as the ground erupted with several vines. "Call of the Haunted! So I can bring out a familiar face! Return my Gigaplant!"

The large Venus Flytrap-like monster reemerged on the field, screeching loudly in being back on the field (2400/1200). "And now, for the attack! Gigaplant! Eliminate his last Mine Golem!"

Several vines shot out from the Gigaplant's stomach and immediately crashed into Mine Golem's body, making the rock monster explode in a great blaze. (ELP: 4850)

"It may have cost me a few more life points," Eiji chuckled as he held up a pair of cards from his hand and fitted it into his duel disk, making it appear behind all five of his monsters. "But it's a small price to pay to make sure that you can't tribute summon anything dangerous."

'_And my face down card is Bottomless Trap Hole, I happen to know that most rock decks have a real ace up their sleeve, and looking at the fact that he's been sending rock monsters to the graveyard, chances are he's about to summon that monster – Gaia Plate the Earth Giant! But I'll stop him in his tracks, and if he thinks his Guidance of Ore will help, he's dead wrong about that too! I can use my Dust Tornado to blow his trap off the field!'_

"Trust me, Mr. Hidari," Price replied as he slowly drew from the top of his deck. "You never know when those life points of yours are going to be needed."

"Yeah, well as long as their higher than yours, I don't care," Eiji snickered as he pushed a button on his duel disk. "Now I activate my trap card – Dust Tornado! And I'll use it's effect to blow away your Guidance to Ore!"

A powerful twister flew across the field and slammed into the large mine shaft, instantly destroying the structure.

"Not bad," Eiji pointed out as he reached into his graveyard slot. "But that won't stop me, I'll remove two of the Mine Golems from my graveyard in order to special summon one of this deck's most powerful monsters!"

The ground began to rumble, and immediately shattered open to unleash a large golem-like creature that looked to be made up of only large boulders and rocks. The moment that the rocky monster was fully above the ground, it slammed its large fists together (2800/1000). "Gaia Plate, the Earth Giant!"

"Too bad you're not going to be able to use him!" Eiji laughed loudly as he pushed a button on his duel disk, making a large hole appear underneath the Earth Giant and making it fall through it. "My Bottomless Trap Hole will make sure of that!"

Price smirked as he watched his large giant disappear into the earth, "Not a bad move, Mr. Hidari, you've got excellent foresight."

"No duh," Eiji spat with a crooked smirk on his face. "So, are you going end your turn now?"

"Actually, I was thinking about playing a few more cards," Price replied as he held up the card he drew. "You see, Mr. Hidari, the average deck size is around forty cards, and even if you run the maximum of three of a certain card, the odds of you drawing it aren't that good. Unless of course you know how to stack decks, but that's considered cheating."

"Is there a point to that?" Eiji yawned as he crossed his arms.

"I'm getting to it," Price answered as he held up his duel disk. "This deck was designed to only hold forty cards, and in order to acquire the cards you need, you need to be able to thin your deck. Which is actually a double edged sword technique and requires a lot of skill to pull it off, and even then, there's a chance that your opponent can easily stop your strategy and you'll be left dead in the water.

"However, this isn't the case this time. And thanks to you, I've managed to secure my victory."

"What?" Eiji questioned raising an eyebrow.

"But don't worry," Price explained as he held up a card from his hand. "You've done well enough against this deck to get into Ra Yellow."

"Stop talking crap, teach," Eiji growled as he threw his arm to the side. "You've got nothing but bluffs!"

"We'll see about that," Price replied as he fitted a card into his duel disk. "I play a second Fossil Fusion!"

The moment that Price fitted the card into his duel disk, another vortex warped the field in between the two duelists, making the last Mine Golem and a very powerful warrior dressed in red, ripped cloth and sparking armor appear on the field, both of them being absorbed into the vortex. "So, I'll fuse my last Mine Golem and the Gilford the Lightning that I placed in your graveyard, in order to summon the last monster for this duel."

The vortex merged into the ground, shaking the ground until a large rusted over blade shot from the ground. Immediately afterwards, a dull golden blur flew through the air as well, grabbing the rusted blade in its claw hands. The blur crash landed in front of Price and snapped the blade to the side, revealing a powerful warrior dressed in dull-gold skeletal armor with a long billowing cape attached to its horned shoulder pads.

The warrior lifted its blade towards the insects at Eiji's field and roared a loud battle cry (2800/1300). "Fossil Warrior Skullking!"

"It's… Its kind of impressive and cool," Eiji scoffed to the side with his eyes closed. "But your prehistoric atrocity isn't going to last long on the field! All I gotta do is suicide it with my Doom Dozer, and I can easily get to your life points next turn!"

"Then let's test that theory," Price replied as he reached into his graveyard slot and pulled out a single card. "Remember when you played your Mystical Space Typhoon? You destroyed a very potent trap card called Skill Successor, and by removing it from the graveyard, I can increase Skullking's attack by eight hundred points until the end phase of this turn!"

A powerful blood red aura wrapped around the fossil warrior's body, making the warrior grit his teeth before he snarled a powerful battle cry (2800/1300 + 800/0).

"Now then, destroy Doom Dozer!" Price commanded as the powerful ancient warrior leapt into the air.

Eiji's eyes widened as he watched the powerful warrior fall back to the earth, bringing its rusted blade down on the powerful insect and cleaved the monster in two separate pieces that exploded into millions of pixels. (ELP: 4050)

"… Heh," Eiji laughed as a card popped out of his deck. "Thanks teach! You just activated Verdant Sanctuary's effect! Now I can add an insect that's the same level as my Doom Dozer from my deck, like a second Doom Dozer!"

'_Next turn, I can have my second Doom Dozer destroy Skullking, and then I can instantly destroy the rest of his life points!'_

"Skullking! Attack Brain Crusher!"

"Wait, what?" Eiji yelped as the Skullking spun around and sliced his blade right through the large mutated insect's neck, dismembering it completely! "How in the world did you…" (ELP: 2850)

"As long as you have monsters out," Price explained as the Skullking sliced his sword through the air, sending some of the remaining blood from its latest victim to the ground. "My Skullking can attack. Meaning, he can attack your Gigaplant as well!"

Before Eiji knew it, the Skullking had appeared before his large plant monster, and had stabbed its sword right through the Gigaplant's bulb and caused the plant to wither away. (ELP: 1650)

'_If that's what his monster can do,'_ Eiji thought as he looked at his two face down monsters. '_Then I should refrain from activating my Howling Insect and Flying Kamakiri 1's effects. I can always add copies from my deck to my hand with Verdant Sanctuary, and I'll still be able to pull off destroying his king next turn and then get him with my monsters!'_

"Now to end this!" Price shouted as the Skull King roared loudly and spun its blade behind it. "Skullking! Attack the face down monster on the left!"

"What's the point of attacking my monster?" Eiji asked as the blade stabbed right through the face down monster, revealing a large mantis like monster with several small arms and many wings (1400/900). "They're in defense mode and…"

"Which is exactly why Skullking's other effect works perfectly," Price replied as he fitted his glasses back on his face, a bright smile on his face. "Tell me Eiji, what is trampling damage?"

Eiji's eyes widened as the Flying Kamakiri 1 shattered into millions of pixels that flew into his body, "Gah! Damage that's inflicted through defense!" (ELP: 0)

Slowly Eiji fell to his knee, his eyes widening at the same time, "What…"

"It was an excellent duel, Mr. Hidari," Price commented as he walked over to the kneeling student. "And I should tell you that…"

"Oh screw off!" Eiji snarled as he stood up. "Do you realize what this means? I lost to some nobody professor for the entrance duels! I can't get into Duel Academia now you four-eyed bastard!"

Price stood there, blinking a few times as Eiji stomped away from the new professor with a puzzled look on his face. "Uh… I was going to say that the grade was curved and you'd still get into Duel Academia. I mean, he… Oh, he's gone."

Price rubbed the back of his head with a nervous look on his face, "This won't end well."

**TTTTT**

"Wow… So it looks like Eiji's mini win-streak finally came to a close," The red haired girl cooed. "I can honestly say I'm surprised… But I like that new professor's style!"

"… You say that about any cute guy who wears glasses," the scarf wearing man pointed out with a large bead of sweat rolling down the side of his head.

"Well… Yeah," the girl chuckled with a bead of sweat rolling down the side of her head. "But I'm a girl, I've got hormones and good taste… Sides, I'm a sucker for handsome guys with glasses."

"… Moving out of this conversation," the scarf wearing man muttered closing his eyes. "I'm going to have to speak to the headmaster about this."

"Was that duel really all that great?" The girl asked blinking a few times.

"It wasn't that," the scarf-wearing man admitted as he began to walk away. "It's the decks that the proctors and professors are using… There's something wrong about them, and I intend on finding out what's going on."

"Man, why is it you're so serious now?" The girl sighed with a roll of her eyes.

The scarf-wearing man stopped in his tracks, and merely shrugged. "Its been a long day… Just let me get some sleep and I'll be back to my normal self."

**TTTTTT**

_Time: 2:00 p.m._

It had been a long day for Price, and after a few duels (a majority of them ending in his victory, much to his displeasure), and at the moment he was taking a break in the stands opposite of the students.

It was at times like this that Price really took the value of a good cup of coffee to a new level. Sipping on the cup he had, Price couldn't help but sigh in relief, "At least it's almost over…"

"Indeed," a familiar, yet rough voice sounded. "And I have to say, for a new professor, Price, you're starting to show promise."

Price nearly spat out the coffee he had in his mouth before he turned towards the right to see Professor Hund standing to his side with a cup of coffee in his own hands. "P-Professor Hund!"

"Price, I would suggest you work on that speech problem of yours," Hund suggested as he took a seat not too far from Price. "But other than that, you show promise."

"Yeah, but using a deck that's meant for dorm upgrading seems a bit… Underhanded," Price pointed out as he lowered his head.

"Perhaps," Hund answered with his own sip of coffee. "But, nothing in life comes easy, the sooner these kids learn that, the better duelists they can become. And like I said before, the duelists are getting a curved grade. Take that Eiji student you dueled against a few hours ago.

"Thanks to his solid academic work, he's already secured himself a spot in Duel Academia, but thanks to his duel, he won't be place in Obelisk Blue. More than likely, he'll be placed in Ra Yellow."

"Then what was his outburst for?" Price asked with his head tilted to the side.

"… Some people take this game way too seriously," Hund replied quickly.

_TBC Maybe…_

**TTTTTTT**

**Card Stats**

**Insect Costume / Normal Spell / Effect:** Send 1 Insect-Type monster from your hand to the graveyard. Add 1 Insect-Type monster from your deck to your hand. Then, destroy 1 Insect-type monster you control

**Image:** Three insects lining up behind each other, with a great light flashing around them.

_This card was used in the Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's anime_

**Code Change / Quick-Play Spell / Effect:** Select 1 face-up card on the field whose effect involves a Type(s) of monster and declare a type. Until the End Phase, the Type(s) mentioned in the selected card's text becomes the declared Type.

**Image:** A duel monster card being altered with a fact name.

_This card was used in the final duel of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX by Yuki Judai._

**Guidance to Ore / Continuous Spell / Effect:** When a Rock-Type monster you control is destroyed, you can Special Summon 1 monster from your Deck with the same name as the destroyed monster.

**Image:** A large coal mine

_This card was used by Iwamaru in the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX anime._

**Fossil Fusion / Normal Spell / Effect:** Remove from play, from either player's

Graveyard, Fusion Material monsters that are listed on a 'Fossil' Fusion monster card, and Special Summon that monster from your Extra Deck. (This Special Summon is considered to be a Fusion Summon).

**Image:** A pair of dinosaur skeletons fusing together

**Fossil Dragon Skullgar / Earth / LV. 6 / ATK: 2500 / DEF: 0 / Rock/Fusion/Effect:** [1 Rock-Type monster in your Graveyard + 1 Level 4 or lower Dinosaur-Type monster in your opponent's Graveyard]. This card can only be Special Summoned with "Fossil Fusion".

**Description:** A large fossil like dragon with a skeleton like hide with several spikes jutting from its back and a large silver underbelly.

**Fossil Warrior Skullking / Earth / LV. 8 / ATK: 2800 / DEF: 1300 / Rock/Fusion/Effect:** [1 Rock-Type monster in your Graveyard + 1 Level 7 or higher Warrior-Type monster in your opponent's Graveyard] This card cannot be Special Summoned except with "Fossil Fusion". While your opponent controls a monster, this card can attack as many times as possible. During battle between this attacking card and a Defense Position monster whose DEF is lower than the ATK of this card, inflict the difference as Battle Damage to your opponent.

**Description:** A mighty warrior dressed in demonic, skeletal armor with a long flowing black and red cape with a large, rusted over saber in his claw like hands.

_The preceding four cards were used by Jim Crocodile in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX_

**Foolish Grave / Normal Spell / Effect:** Select one monster card in your deck and send it to your opponent's graveyard.

**Image:** A broken Saggi the Dark Clown Statue down on the dirt of a fresh grave

**The Stealthy Graverobber / Normal Spell / Effect:** Select one monster card in your graveyard and place it in your opponent's graveyard. Then, you may draw one card from your deck.

**Image:** A grave robber dressed up as a ninja digging up a grave

**TTTTT**

_**Next time…**_

**Welcome to Duel Academia!**

**I want to thank you…**

**There's no difference between us!**

**AAAH!**

**-lips licked-**

**Gah! You… You're just…**

**Is there really a problem?**

**If you want a fight! I'll give it to ya!**

**Why do I keep screwing up?**

**Ever on and on I continue circling**

_**I can only see your soul…**_

_**And it burns brighter than the moon behind you!**_

_**Draw 2**_

_**Rough Seas**_


	2. Draw 2: Rought Seas

_**Can you feel it? **_

_**Tell me the truth, in each and everyone's heart is an awakening to new experiences… Some people are able to adapt to these experiences and other are not so lucky. Even though we're afraid of these experiences, we need to seek this truth in order to better ourselves. **_

_**But it's quite amazing on this road! **_

_**There's an old saying that it's the journey itself that's important, not the end… And I gotta say that it's simply amazing. So many different people, so many kinds of music, and so many kinds of scenery!**_

_**Although, I will admit that there are still a lot of things that I haven't gotten used to yet in this new profession of mine…**_

… _**People are really weird, aren't they?**_

_**TTTTTT**_

_**Draw 2**_

_**Rough Seas**_

_**TTTTTT**_

_Time: 5:00 p.m._

It had been a couple of hours since the entrance examinations and only thirty minutes since the results of the exams were posted. However, due to Academia traditions, only the names of the future students were posted on the board, allowing the applicants to see if they were accepted or not.

There are only two ways to Duel Academia, one way is by cramped helicopter and the other is by taking a boat or ship to the island based school. And since taking a helicopter would be insanely cramped due to the number of accepted applicants…

Logic would dictate that the students would be traveling by boat.

Domino City Harbor, while normally a quiet section of the large city, was today flooded with several teenagers, each of them congratulating each other or comparing their strategies as they stood in front of the large ship – It wasn't hard to find it after all, for it had quite a few large banners on it that read 'Welcome to Duel Academia!' on them.

And standing at the bridge that connected the boat to the docks was none other than Price and Hund – The latter tapping his foot annoyingly. "Those banners are a little over the top…"

"Well… I, I didn't suggest them, sir," Price chuckled nervously as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Of course you didn't," Hund growled as he clenched his biceps with his hands. "It was that frivolous Kimchi who suggested it… Then again, he's the man who insisted on being a professor, a dorm leader, the P.E. coach and the top chef at Duel Academia…

"So, it wouldn't be too far of a stretch for him to pull a stunt like this."

"I… I haven't met Kimchi, yet, Professor Hund," Price admitted adjusting his glasses. "So… I wouldn't…"

"You'll meet him soon enough," Hund interrupted looking at his watch and nodded at it. "Unfortunately, we have other matters to attend to. Hand me the bullhorn."

"R-Right!" Price chuckled turning around to pick up the bullhorn, and just as he turned around to hand it to Hund...

The bullhorn accidentally turned on, sending a loud whiny screech that made all the nearby students grab their ears in pain. Even Price dropped the bullhorn in order to cover his own ears…

The only one who didn't seem to be affected was Hund himself, who simply caught the bullhorn and held it up to his lips, "At least that caught everyone's attention. For those of you who don't know who I am, I am Professor Cruger Hund of the Obelisk Blue Dormitory for Duel Academia.

"I hate long speeches, and I'm not in charge of giving you a speech… That's for the Headmaster's job when you arrive on the island. For now though I am here to congratulate you all so far on your success in the entrance examinations. 

"Now, in one short night, you all will be arriving at Duel Academia in order attend your classes."

Hund stopped talking when a majority of students cheered, then with a sigh; Hund lifted up the megaphone once more, "Yeah… Congratulations to you all, now before you all are on the ship; I must enforce one single rule on the boat…

"Dueling with duel disks will be prohibited in certain areas the moment we leave this dock and until we land on the academy. This is so that the crew of the ship will not be distracted from their duties. You will not be allowed in certain areas of the ship and refreshments will be provided through out the trip.

"There will be a location under the deck where you will be allowed to duel with duel disks, we will tell you where to find this makeshift arena once we set off from the dock, so until then, please, no dueling.

"As for accommodations for rooms, proctors will be guiding you to your rooms and do not expect to share a room with someone from the opposite gender… And security will be making rounds at random time intervals to make sure this rule is enforced.

"And lastly, entertainment will be provided. Second and third year students have volunteered their time in order to do so, and if you wish to enjoy the entertainment they are providing, they will start their performance promptly around seven o'clock on the deck of the ship."

Taking a moment to breathe, Hund sighed loudly, "Now… If you would all board the ship in a calm and peaceful manner…"

Before Hund could even finish that sentence, several students began to rush past the two professors and run up the bridge onto the ship.

"That is not calm and peaceful!" Hund snarled loudly, being ignored by all the students.

TTTTTTT

_Time: 6:13 p.m._

It wasn't long to make sure all of the students were accounted for on the ship due to the temporary room accommodations, and thus, the ship had left the docks and began its travels to Duel Academia.

It was a calm evening, the skies completely clear and only beginning to turn red thanks to the setting sun…

And with the salty air lofting about, Price couldn't help but sigh in relief as he walked the top deck of the ship, a smile on his face as he watched the dock slowly disappear into the distance. '_Well… For my first day, I didn't do too badly as a professor…'_

That's when Price face faulted slightly, '_Aw who am I kidding? I was late for the opening, I soiled important documents and I almost lost my deck…'_

Taking his glasses off, Price began to clean them with a handkerchief he produced from his pocket while he continued his walk on the ship. '_Speaking of my deck, I never really got a chance to properly thank that character for giving my deck back to… GWAH!'_

Even though he had his glasses off, one would have to wonder how Price didn't seen the person sleeping on the deck, forcing the professor to trip over the sleeping person's legs and send him to the ground with a loud smack. "URK!"

A few moments later, Price had his glasses back on his slightly red face, "Ow… What did I trip over?"

Turning his attention back, Price gasped when he realized that he had tripped over a sleeping student, dressed in a flowing white and blue overcoat with a scarf covering his mouth. The young man didn't even seem to notice that Price had tripped over his legs, since the student still seemed to be sleeping soundly. '_Well, that's nice place to sleep!'_

Recovering from his fall, Price rubbed the back of his head at the sleeping student, '_I shouldn't really leave him like this…'_

"Excuse me, young man, are you okay?"

Price slowly shook the young man by the shoulder, eliciting a small growl from the student. "Meh… Who's there?"

The young man opened his eyes slightly, leering at Price, "… Oh, just a professor, is there something wrong?"

"Uh, yeah, you're kind of sleeping in the middle of floor," Price pointed out rubbing the back of his head. "And I tripped over you…"

The young man yawned loudly before he stood up, "Man, I was having such a nice dream. I dreamt that I was eating a huge plate of fire engines."

"I… I don't know whether to say that's a normal dream or if it's weird," Price muttered with a confused look in his eyes. "But regardless, I don't think you should really be sleeping on the deck of the ship… Someone could trip over you and…"

"You tripped over me, didn't you?" The scarf wearing student snickered, making Price nervously rub the back of his head.

"Uh, well, you see…" Price mumbled as he pushed up his glasses in order to hide his blush. "I was… Uh… Well… You're just trying to shift the blame!"

"And you're doing the same as well," the scarf wearing student retorted. "So how about we call this little argument to rest? I've had a long night last night and I was hoping to actually get some sleep while on the boat."

"Well, don't you have a room to retire to?" Price asked. "You could always get some sleep there and…"

"Are you kidding?" the young scarf man asked with a dulled look in his eyes. "If I did go to one of the rooms, it'd be a given that I wouldn't be able to sleep. The new students are too riled up to actually sleep and then there's that music that's been playing non-stop since the boat left the docks, and its only going to get louder and louder."

"Oh yeah, Professor Hund did explain that there was going to be entertainment on the boat ride," Price admitted as he turned his eyes to the side. "But, would it really be that loud?"

"Look," the young student yawned loudly as he adjusted his scarf. "I'll go sleep elsewhere, if you don't believe me about the music, feel free to check it out yourself. It should be taking place at the bow of the boat even as we speak."

"Yes, but still, that doesn't really resolve our current issue though," Price pointed out with a large bead of sweat appearing on the side of his head.

"Listen, I know you're a new professor, and I know you've had a long first day," the scarf wearing student commented, making Price blink a few times. "So, I'm cutting you some slack and following your simple request, but I suggest that you learn when to let sleeping dogs lie. Now have a good day, sir."

Price watched as the scarf wearing student slowly trotted away from him, yawning loudly in the process. There was something that crossed Price's mind as he watched the student round the corner, '_I can understand that due to my uniform, that he would think I'm a professor. But, how did he know it was my first day? Could he be a second year student?'_

However, before Price could continue his train of thought, his stomach growled loudly, making the young professor place his hand on his empty stomach. '_Right, I skipped breakfast and lunch… All I'm running on now is coffee. So, I might as well check out the cafeteria here.'_

As Price made his way to the cafeteria on the boat, the very same scarf-wearing student leaned up against the corner he had turned on. With his arms crossed, the student nodded his head – Recalling a conversation he had earlier…

TTTT – Half an Hour Earlier – TTTT

The last few students and professors were getting onto the ship, and making sure that all students were onboard and accounted for, Hund was standing on the docks looking over a clipboard that showed the marks of the students who were on board, "Hmm, everything seems to be in order. All the students who passed are on board…"

"Seems like a good crop for this year, Professor Hund," Yawned a suave voice.

"I guess I should expect you to have a good eye for potential," Hund stated as he placed the clipboard under his arm as the scarf wearing student walked up. "After all, you aren't one of my best students for nothing, Mustang."

The scarf wearing student – Mustang stretched his arms as he came to a stop in front of the older professor, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know the details of that. And you're an excellent teacher, but there are some things that I do have to question…"

Hund turned his eyes towards Mustang, narrowing his eyes slightly at the young student. "… Go on…"

"I couldn't help but notice the decks that some of the proctors were using," Mustang stated with his arms crossed now. "A Fossil Fusion strategy for example seems like it be a bit more difficult to counteract since the cards are usually very rare to find as well as being very strong."

"And your point being is?" Hund questioned.

"I also recall facing a Fossil Fusion deck in my second dorm promotion examination," Mustang pointed out with his eyes narrowed down at Hund. "Even the combos I had to face against were the same as when I was dueling to become an Obelisk Blue student. And I highly doubt that a new professor would be willing to use his own deck.

"Also, I really doubt that would be his real deck even if he had chosen to do so, he struggled with using the deck against Eiji. So my question for you, professor, is quite simple, do you have a reason for why the proctors were using dorm advancement decks?"

"… Its at times like this I dislike your keen deductive skills, Mustang," Hund sighed with a shake of his head before he turned completely serious. "Very well, considering your position in the academy, and knowing you, you've probably gone over my head to the headmaster of the academy."

"You read me like a book," Mustang chuckled with a shrug of his shoulders. "So, what's your reasoning?"

"Before the examination is performed, deck lists are provided for each professor so that they can familiarize themselves with the decks they'd be using," Hund explained, his brow narrowed down. "However, a student had managed to steal a few of the deck lists, therefore, I determined that the best course of action was to provide several new decks to the professors in order to prevent any cheating among the students."

"… And the reason why the decks were level three?" Mustang asked.

"Mustang, before classes begin, allow me to speak to you as a teacher," Hund commented as he held his hand up towards the scarf wearing student. "You are a student, and I am the teacher. In society, the bar for education has fallen to such despicable standards, however, as long as I'm a professor, I will keep that bar from falling any further and even raise it! Students should be challenged intellectually, physically and mentally in order to thrive as humans.

"However, when students strive to break the rules, they must be punished accordingly. Even if just one student does so, there is the chance that it can spread like a virus among the student body, and must be vaccinated accordingly. So, while I approve that you're comfortable to approach me, do not undermine me as a professor in my decisions."

Hund spun on his heel and began to walk on the plank towards the ship, "Now, I suggest that you get on board Mustang, unless you wish to drop out from the academy this year and give up all your hard work that you acquired in the last two years."

Mustang remained quiet as he slowly followed Hund onto the boat, his hands now shoved into his pockets. '_… A thief, huh?'_

TTTT – Back to the Present – TTTT

'_Professor Hund does have a good point about the situation,'_ Mustang thought to himself as he closed his eyes. '_And considering the time frame, he would've had to make a call like that. However, I couldn't help but notice that Hund didn't mention anything else on the thief matter. Could it possible that the applicant got booted out?_

'_Or… Is it possible that he's on this boat as well?'_

TTTTTTT

_Time: 6:59 p.m._

"Not bad…" Price muttered to no one in particular as he pulled the food he had gotten away from his mouth.

After snatching some food from the cafeteria, Price was back on the top deck, walking with quite a few other students towards the front of the ship. Truth be told, Price didn't know where he was going, he was just going along with the crowd of accepted applicants (who were a little tense because some of them had to duel against Price earlier).

"Hey everyone! Are you ready to have your hearts stolen?"

That's when something filled the air – Some sort of drum beat that tapped through the air, making Price stop in his tracks to listen. After a few moments, the strums of an electric guitar began to accompany the drum beat. This seemed to mesmerize Price, prompting him to continue his trek to the front of the ship.

And just as he was about to reach it…

_Ever on and on I continue circling_

_With nothing but my hate in a carousel of agony_

_Till slowly I forget and my heart starts vanishing_

_And suddenly I see that I can't break free__—_

_I'm slipping through the cracks of a dark eternity  
><em>

_With nothing but my pain and the paralyzing agony  
><em>

_To tell me who I am, who I was  
><em>

_Uncertainty enveloping my mind  
><em>

_Till I can't break free, and__…_

A beautiful voice sang those lyrics in perfect timing with the instruments, and from where Price stood he saw that he wasn't the only one attracted by the music. On the front deck of the ship were several applicants standing and cheering in front of a large make-shift stage that had four people standing on it – And the music was coming from them.

In the back of the stage was a large teenager with long dark hair dressed in a yellow and white blazer, strumming on a large set of drums. On either side of him were two other guys, both dressed in dark blue overcoats – each strumming on a guitar.

_Maybe it's a dream; maybe nothing else is real_

_But it wouldn't mean a thing if I told you how I feel  
><em>

_So I'm tired of all the pain, of the misery inside  
><em>

_And I wish that I could live feeling nothing but the night_

However, it was the fourth person who was singing that caught Price's attention – It was a young girl singing into a microphone as she stepped around the stage. She was a slim, petite girl with creamy white skin and red hair that was pulled up into a pair of leafy-like tails. Covering her petite figure was a red vest over a black belly shirt that showed off her skin with a matching black mini-skirt with a few belts on it.

_You can tell me what to say; you can tell me where to go_

_But I doubt that I would care, and my heart would never know_

_If I make another move there'll be no more turning back  
><em>

_Because everything will change, and it all will fade to black_

Price blinked a few times at the young student. It wasn't the first time Price had seen young women dressed like that, but to see the uniform modified to that extreme seemed to be teetering on dress code's standards.

'_She sure has a nice voice…'_ Price thought as he continued to munch on the food he had acquired a few minutes ago, just standing there to listen to the music that was playing.

_Will tomorrow ever come? Will I make it through the night?_

_Will there ever be a place for the broken in the light?_

_Am I hurting? Am I sad? Should I stay, or should I go?_

_I've forgotten how to tell. Did I ever even know?_

As the girl took a breath to continue her song, she spun around and winked to the crowd, eliciting several catcalls and wolf-whistles through out the air.

_Can I take another step? I've done everything I can  
><em>

_All the people that I see I will never understand  
><em>

_If I find a way to change, if I step into the light  
><em>

_Then I'll never be the same, and it all will fade to white_

What Price didn't know about this girl, was that she was the same girl who was watching his duel against Eiji. Not that he would really care about that if he knew. He was more preoccupied with the beautiful song she was singing to the crowd.

Eventually, the song began to end, the large crowd cheering for more of the girl's amazing singing as she soaked in the crowd's reaction. "Thank you very much, everyone! Give a round of sound to Duel Academia's very own band – Ninety-Nine Percent! We'll be back in a little bit to continue our entertainment for you all!

"But for now, please, put your hands together for the next band – One Bad Draw!"

The moment the girl said that, she and the three of her band-mates jumped off the stage, allowing five other students to rush onto the stage, each of them taking the instruments that were just being used.

However, as the next song began to play, the crowd was more focused with the previous band as they walked through the crowds of accepted applicants, most of the attention gathered on the fiery red haired girl.

'_I'm actually kind of relieved,'_ Price thought with a smile. '_It's good to see that the students are developing skills other than dueling.'_

While Price was thinking to himself, he didn't realize that he was being looked at by the very same girl who was on the stage, a smirk on her face when she saw him, '_Hmm… I didn't expect to see him so quickly. Oh well, I'm not the one interested in him, so it doesn't concern me…'_

TTTTTTTTTTTTT

_Time: 7:31 p.m._

Price sighed loudly before he took a sip on his iced coffee as he sat in the ship's cantina. Caffeine wasn't the best thing to calm one's nerves. However, he needed the boost in energy to keep him in top game…

… Of course, if you asked Price, he didn't have a top game.

But he had other things on his mind.

"Gah," Price moaned as he pulled the cup of coffee from his lips. '_This day just keeps getting longer and longer. I know Hund said that we supposed to make rounds on the ship, but still…_

'_It's quite taxing on the legs and mind. Sure the music is good to listen to, but still, I can't really stay in the same place for too long…'_

While Price mulled his problems to himself a pair of male students walked past him, both of them tearing open a few packs of cards. "Man, I wasn't expecting to see a card shop on this boat, and at great prices too!"

"Yeah," The other student muttered with a nervous smirk on his face. "But didn't you think that shopkeeper was a little too… Friendly?"

"Huh? What makes you say that?"

"She was licking her lips at us like we were prime cut steak, dood!"

"Yeesh man, you're sounding too paranoid…"

"And you're not paranoid enough!"

Price tilted his head slightly as he overheard the conversation between the two students as they walked away. However, all he heard was the words 'card shop' and the moment he did, he closed off the rest of their conversation to think, '_A card shop? Hund never mentioned a card shop before.'_

Pushing himself away from the table, Price set off in search of this card shop on the ship.

Not like it was that hard to find, cause five minutes later Price was standing in front of what looked to be a large blue banner that had several pink paw prints splashed onto it with the name 'Caterwaul' written in between the paw prints. Price was at first stunned at the sight of the name, turning left and right to see if he was the only one who saw what was wrong with a banner like that.

Sure enough, he wasn't the only one who was looking at the sign with weird looks. Of course, Price didn't like the fact that most of the other people near him were students, '_If this shop is run by a member of the faculty, then I'm going to have to speak to Hund about this. Why the hell would you name a shop after that!'_

"Ah, the new young professor, I had heard you were cute, but no one told me you had megane..."

Price was pulled from his train of thought by the sound of licking lips – Which sent a chill running down Price's back. Some of the students slowly backed away when Price looked at the voice's owner, "… Uh, are you the owner of this shop?"

On the ground in front of Price on a large pink carpet was a young woman, simply sitting amongst the packs of duel monster cards that she had seated around her thin legs. She was rather average in the figure department with a pink shirt and black overall shorts that showed off her nice legs. She had a cute, if not devious looking face that was topped with a black Duel Academia cap that had her short black hair popping out from the back with a few strands of pink hair falling in front of her large, green eyes – Price would even go so far to say that they looked like a cat's eyes. "Hmm, let's see, I've got duel monster packs on the carpet, I've got a large sign with the shop's name on it…"

"Yeah, that's not really the best name for a shop," Price pointed out, a large bead of sweat rolling down the side of his head.

"And I've got a lock box full of cash," The young woman cooed, running a finger under her sharp chin. "So, nope! I am not the owner!"

Price merely pushed up his glasses in order to hide the blush on his face, "Uh…"

"I'm just hazing you, newbie!" the catty woman mewed waving her hand a few times. "Its tradition to haze the new professors when they get here, so don't worry about it."

"Oh," Price muttered rubbing the back of his head as he crouched down to look at the cards on the carpet. "I'm Rowen Price, the professor and dorm head for Osiris Red male dorm."

"Hmm," The catty woman purred, licking her lips again a large blush slowly crept onto her face. "So, you're the teacher in charge of the dorm with the greatest number of males in the whole school? With a figure like that?"

"Uh, should I be worried that you're drooling?" Price asked, taking a step back from the woman.

"No, not really," The catty shopkeeper replied with her smile returning as she wiped away the drool with her arm. "Anyway, the name's Hibiki Ayukawa, but everyone calls me Hibiki-tan! So, what brings a professor down to my humble little shop – Caterwaul?"

"Yeah, could you not say that name?" Price mumbled with a dull look on his face. "It's kind of embarrassing to hear."

"Aw, and I thought it was cute," Hibiki-tan moaned, fake tears appearing in the corners of her eyes.

"Uh, a-anyway," Price coughed, trying to change the subject. "I just came down here to verify that there was a shop here. Although, I'm surprised to see that there's a shop here."

"Meh, you gotta go where the business goes," Hibiki-tan answered with a wink. "Besides, after those examinations, I figure the students would want to reinforce their decks with brand new cards."

"Well, that does make sense," Price admitted.

"But, enough about that," Hibiki-tan cooed with an innocent smile. "You're a duelist as well, aren't you?

"Yeah," Price answered blinking a few times. "Of course I am."

"Then how about you buy a couple dozen packs for me?" Hibiki-tan suggested with that innocent smile turning into a devious smirk. "Every little bit helps, ya know. And I'll even throw in a special little treat for ya."

Reaching into her hat, Hibiki-tan produced a small pink card that had several heart and paw prints parked on it with the words 'Duel Academia's Number One Card Shop – Caterwaul Gift Card'. "Buy enough packs, and you can qualify to win the special prize from yours truly!"

"Uh, w-what's the prize?" Price asked as he took the card, a little worried that the name on the card might actually be the name for the academy's actual store.

"Hmm, well, if I told you," Hibiki-tan replied as she ran a hand under her chin. "Then it wouldn't be much of a surprise, now would it?"

"Y-Yes, I suppose it would ruin the surprise," Price chuckled nervously as he ran a hand through his hair.

"So, how many packs would you like to buy?" Hibiki-tan asked as she held up quite a few. "Every five packs you buy will add a point to that card of yours!"

"What? Five packs for a single point?" Price yelped with his eyes wide.

While Price was reaching into pants pocket for his wallet, most of the students who were around couldn't help but snicker at the predicament that he had gotten himself into.

However, one student had his eyes focused on something else on the scene…

TTTTTTTTTTT

_Time: 8:09 p.m._

"Aw man," Price sighed loudly as he looked at his thinned out wallet. '_I maybe a duelist and I know that a duelist needs to be able to adjust their decks multiple times in order to keep things fresh and surprise their opponents… But packs are pricy! Oh, why did I let Hibiki-tan talk me into buying twenty packs?'_

With his head lowered towards the table he was seated at, after his little run in with Hibiki, Price had found himself in one of the lounges on the ship, with another cup of coffee to help him keep him awake during his shift. The lounge itself was rather quiet actually, only a handful of students were around – either chatting with each other, trading cards, enjoying a cup of coffee or even dueling on the tabletops.

All in all it was a calm scene that Price was glad to be a part of… Of course, that didn't stop him from reminding himself of the problem that was facing him in the form of twenty packs of cards and a nearly emptied wallet, '_I hope that I can at least get meals for free at the academy when I get there. Otherwise, I might be sunk within the first week…'_

"Well now, our paths cross once more."

"Huh?" Price questioned looking up from his wallet to see none other than Mustang looming over the table, a paper cup of coffee in his hands. "It's, it's you again, you're that one student who…"

Mustang took a seat across from Price, placing his cup on the table as he leaned back in the seat, "Yes, I realize that I fell asleep in an unusual place, that's just part of my charm… Well that and the fact that I skipped a couple of nights of sleep to help the professors with their preparations for the entrance examinations."

"Really?" Price questioned rubbing his chin. '_So, I was right, this guy was an older student, and he must have some pull at the academia if he's allowed to provide assistance to the professors. Although, I don't ever recall seeing him before during the preparations that I was actually involved in…'_

"But regardless," Mustang continued as he crossed his arms over his chest. "That doesn't exclude me from making you trip over my legs. Besides, you're a new professor and I need to show you the same respect that I would show Hund, so Professor Price, allow me to introduce myself – Mustang of the Obelisk Blues at your service!"

"Mustang?" Price questioned with his head tilted slightly. "No surname?"

"Nah, its cooler to have one name," Mustang chuckled before he took a sip of his coffee. "Kinda like Prince or Cher, it always works well and adds a bit of depth when it comes to introductions."

"I… I see…" Price mumbled as he looked at the cup of coffee near him. "Well, you seem to know me by my name. But, feel free to call me Rowen, I prefer to have my students call me by my first name."

"Not a bad style," Mustang replied with a snap of his fingers. "I think you and I are going to get along greatly."

"What makes you say that?" Price asked tilting his head to the side as he gathered up the packs that he had purchased from Hibiki-tan.

"Well, ya see…" Mustang started. "I was actually at the testing grounds, and what can I say? I liked what I saw, for a new professor, you certainly seemed to be able to adapt well with a deck that you never used before."

"I… Well, it was just luck," Price replied with his tongue sticking out. "I'm not that great of a duelist."

"Oh? If you weren't then you wouldn't have been able to become a professor here," Mustang countered, a large smirk appearing on his face. "Plus, you managed to defeat the number one student from the prep school. That's certainly nothing to sneeze at, besides, you don't need to sell yourself short, I'm sure that…"

"-KUN!"

"Huh?" Price questioned as he turned to the side, only to have a familiar person tackle into his body, sending both of them to the ground. "URK!"

Mustang just sat there with a large bead of sweat, "… And getting some girls crashing into while they scream your name can be a good sign as well."

"Ow…" Price moaned as he adjusted his glasses. "Who in the world…"

"Price-kun!"

Price's eyes nearly bugged out from behind his glasses and his face glowed with a bright red when he realized that he was staring into a pair of cat-like eyes that had a few strands of pink and black hair lofting in front of them. "Uh… H-H-Hibiki-tan? W-W-What are you doing?"

Price didn't get an answer from the catty store owner, but instead he saw something in her eyes that made his eyes return to normal and make his face turn serious.

There were tears in her eyes.

"Hibiki-tan, what's wrong?" Price asked, no longer caring about the awkward position that he was in.

"I, I was robbed!" Hibiki sobbed, more tears appearing in her eyes. "Someone took all the packs I had and the cash I earned from my sales!"

"What?" Price muttered as he slowly stood up, helping Hibiki to her feet.

A few moments later, and getting the slightly distraught Hibiki a cup of water, both Price and Mustang turned their full attentions towards her, "Alright," Price started off, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Hibiki-tan, why don't you start by telling me what exactly happened."

'_Hibiki-tan?'_ Mustang thought with a smirk on his face. '_Looks like Hibiki hasn't changed a bit since last semester.'_

"W-Well," Hibiki muttered with her hat down. "It was a little bit after you left, Megane-kun."

"M-Megane-kun?" Price questioned with that serious look of his disappearing in the process.

"Congrats, Megane-kun!" Mustang laughed loudly, his smirk getting larger by the second. "It's only your first day and you've got yourself a nickname!"

"T-That's not important at the m-moment!" Price coughed before he turned back to Hibiki. "Now, please, continue."

"Like I was saying," Hibiki continued after taking a sip from the cup of water she was given. "A little after you left, Megane-kun, I was getting ready to close up for the night when one more student came up and asked to see what packs I had left. Naturally, I couldn't turn down any business, cause that's one of the first rules I was taught when I was training to become an entrepreneur.

"So, I figured what harm could there be? I brought out some packs that I had packed away, but before I knew it, there was a bright light that exploded around me. Next thing I know, I'm being pushed to the ground with my packs and cash box being taken away!"

"Seems like it's all your fault," Mustang pointed out with a flat tone in his voice.

"How am I supposed to know that guys carry flash-bombs now-a-days?" Hibiki huffed with her arms crossed over her chest. "Besides, I'm the victim here! Ya gotta help me! If anyone finds out about this, I'll be out of a job and…"

"… So, why'd you tell us?" Mustang questioned.

"I was hoping to get Megane-kun to help me," Hibiki replied with a deadly look in her eyes shot towards Mustang. "I wasn't expecting to see someone like you hanging around with the new professor…"

"W-Well, let's think about this for a second," Price commented as he lifted his arms up in an attempt to prevent the two from sparking up a fight. "Hibiki-tan, tell me, do you have any clue who did this?"

"I think it might've been a new student," Hibiki answered as she rubbed her chin. "He wasn't wearing a uniform, and I don't recall ever seeing a student like him. I didn't get a good look at his face, but I saw his clothes.

"He was dressed in a red jacket that had the sleeves ripped off with a star on his back and a pair of ripped blue jeans. And I think he had a hat too, but I'm not too sure."

"Hmm," Price thought to himself as he pushed up his glasses in thought.

"Yen for your thoughts?" Mustang chuckled, holding up a coin in between his fingers. With a smirk on his face, Mustang rolled the coin over his fingers a few times before he caught the coin in his hand. "It seems like you've got an idea."

"Well, think about it," Price answered with his eyes closed. "Assume that you're the thief – You've got several rare cards to your name now, your deck is super charged and you're a new student at duel academia. I would think the first thing you would do is show off you're new deck."

"Wouldn't that be risky to do though?" Mustang retorted with a smirk on his face. "If anything, wouldn't the thief be smart and hide out somewhere?"

"Normally I'd agree with you on that," Price stated. "But consider what he stole. When card packs are opened, it's near impossible to track the cards, so the guy would figure that if he could hide the cashbox, he probably won't get caught.

"And the moment that we get to the island, he'll hide himself amongst the student body and remove any evidence that could catch him, heck, he could be doing that right now. If he tossed the cashbox off of the boat then…"

"I doubt that," Hibiki replied with a smirk on her face. "I locked that sucker with some of the best locks around, so unless he's related to some master thief, it'll take him a while to break into it!"

"Well, he did have smoke bombs," Mustang pointed out.

"So, what we need to do is search for the student you described," Price commented with a smirk on his face. "And see if we can find your cashbox. We do so, we find your thief."

"Yeah!" Hibiki cheered as she pumped her arm into the air. "Let's do this!"

"Well, good luck you two," Mustang sighed as he pushed himself from the table and stood up.

"H-Huh?" Price questioned blinking a few times behind his glasses. "Y-You're not going to help?"

"Three things to note," Mustang explained, snatching up his drink. "One, this doesn't really have anything to do with me. Two, I have to meet up with someone in ten minutes and I know for a fact that if I keep her waiting, then I'm going to regret it for a long time.

"And third, the lovely lady asked for your help, professor, not mine, so I'd just be a third wheel on this matter. So, with that I bid you both good luck."

"Uh," Price mumbled as he watched Mustang walk away. "W-Wait a second…"

Before Price could get up and stop Mustang, Hibiki had already jumped from her seat and latched her arms around Prices right arm, making Price's face turn red. "Come on Megane-kun! We gotta hurry!"

Price's face turned redder when he realized where his arm was, "H-Hibiki-tan I… I… We… M-My arm and…"

"Come on!" Hibiki huffed, beginning to pull Price from the table. "If you know where the thief is, ya gotta help me find him!"

"I… I know, b-but…" Price muttered with his glasses fogging up slightly.

**TTTTT**

_Time: 8:18 p.m._

Under the ship's first floor, the second floor was abuzz with duelists taking advantage of the rules that Hund had announced earlier – The ability to duel with duel disks under the deck of the ship.

All around the makeshift arena, students new and old were gathered around the dueling action with several holograms filling the room. However, not everyone was dueling, several duelists were on the sidelines chatting with each other or enjoying some food that they had gotten from the upper floor.

In fact, there was even a group of students that were gathered around a single table that had several scattered duel monster cards with a metallic money case sitting next to the cards. On one side of the table sat a large couch that had a good number of female students seated on it with a single young man seated in between them all. Thanks to the lighting in the room however, it was hard to see the young man's face, yet his smirk was visible through the darkness, "… Interesting, with a job like this, you've managed to prove me wrong.

"You're not trash after all, Bogard."

"Gimme some credit," the young man who stood on the other side of the table sighed loudly as he pulled down the red and white colored cap over his eyes. Unlike the other student he was talking to, this young man named Bogard was in the light of the room – which showed off his ripped red jacket, a white wife-beater and ripped blue jeans. The man had long brown hair that rested on his shoulders and fell in front of his slim chest. "I'm not some pompous loser like that Eiji guy. I can actually deliver."

The shadowed teen reached over and picked up a few of the cards in front of him, "Eiji Hidari wasn't trash, at least not before his overconfidence got the better of him, Bogard. He underestimated that new professor and didn't consider him a threat.

"In this world, you can't treat anyone as trash until you deal with them yourselves. Treating them as such based solely on the words of another or by rumors is the way that a fool dies."

"So, is that the reason why you treated me as trash then?" Bogard asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"You know how I operate, Bogard," the shadowed teen sighed as he tossed the cards back into the pile. "I learned all about your character back in the streets, every time we crossed paths we fought, both with fists or cards. To learn a person's true self, face them in competition.

"Although, I'll admit that I was surprised that you managed to get into duel academia… I honestly thought you didn't have it in ya."

"Heh, you talk about not underestimating people," Bogard pointed out with his arms crossed. "But you were the one who was underestimating me, I'm more than capable of…"

"Yes, yes, and you also have a tendency of repeating yourself as well," the shadowed teen sighed loudly with a wave of his hand, and immediately one of the girls seated next to him handed him a fancy drink. "Thanks, and Bogard, while I do compliment you on your skills as a thief, your technical talents, and your ability to think on your feet, you lack one key element.

"Common sense…"

"Huh? What the heck are you getting at?" Bogard questioned pushing up his hat to reveal the confused look in his eyes.

The shadowed teen merely sipped his drink casually, but pointed over Bogard's shoulder, making the hat wearing teen spin around just in time to see Price walking into the large room with Hibiki right behind him. "Aw crap!"

"Now, now Bogard," The shadowed teen chuckled as he placed his drink on the table. "This is your own fault, well, yours and your greed. You might have been able to get out of this situation, but you got greedy and took the cash box as well, it's basically a smoking gun in your hands.

"So the question is, what are you going to do now?"

"Uh, well, I could try to…" Bogard muttered to himself as he looked over the cards on the table.

"Although, let me say this," the shadowed teen chuckled as he threw his arms over the girls next to him and rested them on the back of the couch. "I have no intention of interfering or defending you Bogard. You got yourself in trouble, so you'll have to get yourself out of it."

"Gee, thanks for nothing," Bogard sighed with a shake of his head as he began to gather up the cards on the table. "I'm going to follow the advice that my old man told me – when in doubt, run without a shout."

"That's an odd saying," The shadowed teen admitted, a small bead of sweat rolling down the side of his head.

"Works for me though!" Bogard laughed as he pocketed the cards and snatched up the cashbox. "Later doods!"

Bogard ran away from the group, and a few seconds later both Price and Hibiki passed the table, eliciting a few stares from the people on the couch, including the shadowed teen who sighed loudly. "I had a feeling this would happen, oh well. Bogard dug his own grave, now he'll have to sit in it."

**TTTTTT**

A few minutes later in the halls of the ship, the very same girl who was singing on stage walked through the halls with a familiar scarf wearing young man tagging behind her, "Hurry up Mustang!"

"Yeesh, we're just heading to my room," Mustang chuckled with a shake of his head. "What's the rush?"

"I've been performing all night for the crowds," The fiery haired girl cooed as she trotted up to Mustang and snuggled up close to him, and began to run her fingers on his chest. "But now I just want to spend some time with you and perhaps even give you a private show. You know you want to see it."

Mustang couldn't help but smile, "You know Tenri, a guy can take that wrong way."

"Please, I'm a pure and innocent maiden," Tenri replied with a cute smile on her face. "I'm just enjoying myself before I can find the right guy."

"… Once again, a guy can take that the wrong way," Mustang mumbled under his breath. "And what do you mean pure and innocent? If I recall, you used to go under a certain name until a certain little shorty managed to stop you in your tracks."

"Humph," Tenri huffed as she pushed herself. "Why'd you have to ruin my fun by bringing that jerk up?"

"Oh come on Tenri," Mustang sighed loudly. "You know you have to admit if it wasn't for him, you wouldn't have been…"

"OUTTA THE WAY!"

Before Mustang and Tenri turned down the hallway, just in time to have Bogard run right into them, sending the two to the ground while Bogard continued running through the halls. "GOTTA LISTEN, YA LOSERS!"

"Oof!"

"URK!"

A few seconds later, Hibiki ran past the knocked down duo, "STOP THIEF!"

Following not too far behind was none other than Price, who was stumbling just to try to keep up with both the thief and the shopkeeper, "I… I'm coming!"

Mustang blinked a few times at the chase scene that quickly disappeared down the very hallway, and immediately stood up to dust off his uniform, "Well, things certainly have become interesting."

That's when Mustang realized that Tenri's eyes were spinning and she was mumbling something, "Hmm, looks like my schedule's all cleared, I'll just take her back to the room and maybe I'll give teach a hand."

**TTTTTT**

_Time: 8:47 p.m._

Bogard breathed a sigh of relief as he leaned against the restroom wall, having finally managed to ditch his two pursuers. "Man, those losers don't know when to give up."

Taking his hat off to brush some sweat from his brow, Bogard chuckled to himself as he looked at the cashbox he had his foot on. "Now then, I should probably lie low for the rest of the night, I don't need any more trouble for…"

He would've continued, but that's when the door flew open and slammed right into the front part of his body, making a loud sound to echo through the restroom. And the very person who had opened the door, was Price himself with a defeated look on his face. "Ooh, I really am useless, I can't even help catch a thief."

Walking to the sink, Price removed his glasses and began to run some water, completely unaware that as the door to the restroom began to close, Bogard was slinking to the ground with a pained look in his eyes, '_SON-VA-BITCH! THE FRONT OF MY FACE!'_

Price immediately splashed some water on his face and sighed loudly, '_Seriously, if I wasn't so slow, I might've been able to at least caught a glimpse of the thief's face. That would've been enough to catch him once we got to the island. _

'_But no, I can't even do that. What sort of teacher am I going to become if I can't help my co-workers or even my students?'_

"Damn it!"

Price nearly jumped when he heard that voice, making him spin around to see Bogard kneeling on the ground, holding his face, "Damn it, why is it always the face?"

Quickly putting his glasses on, Price's eyes widened realized it was the very same thief that he and Hibiki were chasing a few minutes earlier. "Hey!"

Bogard looked up with his eyes widening underneath his cap, "Oh shit…"

Before Bogard could get to his feet, Price had leapt over the new student and grabbed him by the wrist. "I… I caught ya…"

'_It was purely by dumb luck, but it still counts…'_

"… You mind getting your paws off of me?" Bogard snarled as he jerked his wrist away.

"N-Not a chance," Price muttered as he pointed towards the cash box that sat on the floor. "Y-You're caught red handed, you stole that cashbox from Hibiki-tan and…"

"So what are you going to do if it is?" Bogard retorted as he crossed his arms. "Even if it is this 'Hibiki-tan's' cashbox, it doesn't mean that I stole it. If anything, I could've just found it and…"

"That's enough," Price stated coldly with his eyes narrowed down on Bogard. "Although you do have a point, I don't know if you are the very thief that stole from Hibiki-tan. But, if I take you to her, then she can easily identify not only you but the cash box that you took from her. So, all I have to do is take you to Hibiki-tan and she'll be able to settle this!"

"Great idea," Bogard spat back with his tongue hanging out. "Only one problem, I ain't going anywhere with you!"

"… Fine, then how about I make you a deal then?" Price offered as he reached into his pocket and immediately produced a deck of duel monster cards. "You and I will duel, you win not only will you be allowed to leave without any trouble, but you'll also get a little bonus – My deck."

"Really, now?" Bogard questioned as he looked over the deck. "A professor's deck? Hmm, there's bound to be some rare jewels in there. But what's the catch?"

"I win," Price replied as he reached into his other pocket and pulled out a small pocket duel disk that he immediately slapped onto his left arm, making the device activate. "And you're coming with me to get your punishment."

"Can I get a minute to fix up my deck?" Bogard asked with a sly smirk on his face.

"Go right ahead," Price answered as he fanned his own deck in front of him. '_I apologize for losing you, but please grant me luck in this duel so that I can help out one of my new co-workers.'_

Bogard had spun around and had pulled out all the cards that he had taken from the stolen packs, and looked them over, '_With all of these bad boys, there's no way in hell I can lose! And once I get a professor's deck, I'll be able to power up my deck to make it invincible!'_

A few moments later, both duelists stood across from each other in the men's restroom, both of their duel disks armed with decks and completely lit up. Bogard chuckled as he plucked the top five cards from his deck, "It's not too late, old man, you could still walk away…" (BLP: 8000)

"N-Not a chance," Price muttered as he pulled off his own opening hand. "Theft is a serious offense and I have n-no intention of letting you get off scot-free." (PLP: 8000)

"Heh, it's your deck, teach," Bogard sighed with a shake of his head when he pulled a sixth card from his deck. "But anyway, since you were the one to throw the gauntlet at our feet, I think it's only fair that I get the opening move."

'_And what an opening it'll be…'_

"Very well," Price agreed with a nod.

"To start off," Bogard snickered as he held up a card from his hand. "I'll be playing the spell card – Swamp of the Dragon Snake!"

The moment that Bogard fitted the card into his duel disk, a large puddle of water appeared at both his and Price's feet, making the professor stumble slightly, "W-What in the world?"

"Confused?" Bogard asked as he slid two more cards into his duel disk, making them appear in front of him. "Don't worry, you'll learn what this card can do very soon, but to end my turn, I choose to summon Ipiria!"

The water in front of Bogard began to ripple, immediately allowing a silver scaled iguana emerge from the water with its white mane of hair matted to its slim body (500/500). "And when this monster is normal summoned, I can draw a card from my deck."

Bogard quickly did so and looked over the cards he held, "And like I said though, I'll be ending my turn with that. And during the end phase, my spell card activates, allowing me to special summon another reptile from my deck."

"T-That's a bit much," Price admitted as a card popped into Bogard's hand. "It borders on the breaking point…"

"Well then be glad," Bogard snickered before he tossed the card towards Price, who immediately caught it between his fingers. "Cause I don't get the monster, YOU do! My spell special summons a Reptile to your side of the field each time I end my turn. So, I'll choose to special summon one Poisonous Viper in attack mode on your side of the field!"

Price looked at the card in his fingers and read the text on it, "This is…!"

"What's wrong?" Bogard chuckled, lifting his hand up towards Price. "You gonna play my card, or are ya going to surrender?"

Price bit his lower lip as he slowly placed the card on his duel disk, immediately allowing a long, spotted viper to coil around his legs (100/200).

"There we go, now," Bogard snickered with a snap of his fingers. "You know what happens after you draw, so go ahead."

"Fine!" Price yelped as he drew the top card of his deck, instantly making the Poisonous Viper to bite into his leg. "GAH!" (PLP: 7500)

"During each of your standby phases, my viper will drain five hundred points from you," Bogard chuckled as he licked his lips. "Unless of course you tribute my monster."

Price looked over the six of his cards in his hand and sighed loudly, "Unfortunately, I don't have many tribute monsters in my deck."

"Too bad," Bogard sighed with a smirk.

"But I have this!" Price announced as he slapped a card onto his duel disk. "I summon Quantity in attack mode!"

Leaping from the water was a gleaming small robot with hardly any distinguishing features (500/400).

Bogard just looked at the monster standing before him, blinking a few times at it, "What. The. Hell. Is. That?"

"H-Huh?" Price yelped, pushing up his glasses nervously. "It… It's my monster…"

"Yeah, why the hell are you using something like that?" Bogard snarled with his eyes burning down on Price. "I was under the assumption that you'd have some rare and awesome cards in that deck of yours! If you're running some no name cards, then I'm risking everything for nothing!"

"… You do realize it's only the first turn, right?" Price muttered out loud with a large bead of sweat rolling down the side of his head. "B-Besides, every card has a meaning. Allow me to show you, I activate the spell card, Machine Duplication!"

Two more small white armored robots leapt from the water, instantly striking a pose next to the original Quantity (500/400 x2).

"Great, three tin cans," Bogard muttered under his breath. '_I can see what he's planning, he's going to suicide one of those weaklings with Ipiria and then attack with the other two. I may not be able to use one of my traps, but my Snake Whistle will allow me to special summon another reptile, one a bit stronger. _

'_And then, I can really get the fun going.'_

"Next, I play my own continuous spell card," Price announced as he slid a card into his duel disk, allowing three orbs of light to appear in front of all three of his small machine monsters. "Long-Range Strike!"

That's when three high-tech sniper rifles appeared in the small machines' hands, each of them taking aim at Bogard who blinked a few times at the weapons. "And these are…?"

"C-Continuous spell cards," Price began to explain with his glasses gleaming with light. "They remain in play after activation, and usually grant a minor effect for an undetermined amount of time and offer their effects exclusively to the card's owner."

"What the heck?" Bogard questioned raising an eyebrow.

"S-Sorry, a lot's riding on this duel," Price mumbled with a shake of his head. "A-Anyway, as long as this continuous spell card is out, all level three and lower machine-type monsters on my field can attack your life points directly!"

Bogard's eyes widened when three red dots appeared on his chest.

"Triple Sniper Strike!" Price announced throwing his hand up.

All three of Prices Quantities pulled the triggers on their sniper rifles, sending three concentrated beams of red light to fly through the air and crash into Bogard's chest, making him stumble back slightly. "GAH!" (BLP: 6500)

"I… I end my turn with a set card," Price announced as the set card appeared in front of him.

"Alright, so you got some cheap tricks up your sleeve," Bogard snarled as he pulled off the top card from his deck. "Not bad, teach. But you're not the only one with a few tricks…"

'_Especially considering what I just drew was one of the rare cards I pulled from the packs!"_

"I'll start this turn by activating the spell card called Cost Down!" Bogard announced as he held up the two cards, that he quickly shoved into his graveyard slot. "So by discarding Venom Cobra from my hand, I can lower the level of a monster in my hand by two.

"Meaning now, I can tribute only my Ipiri in order to summon Gogiga Gagagigo!"

A large cybernetic claw erupted from the water underneath the white scaled lizard, immediately crushing it as a large red and yellow scaled reptilian monster emerged from the water… At least until its upper torso was above the water. Over the large, muscular arms and neck of the reptile were several cybernetic enhancements that screeched loudly every time the monster moved (2950/2800).

Price blinked a few times at the impressive reptile, "Uh… Good move?"

"No duh, good move," Bogard snickered as he looked at the last card in his hand. '_And I've got another rare card right here just to help back me up next turn and refresh my hand, but for now, I'll just test the waters!'_

"Gogiga Gagagigo! Crush one of those Quantities!"

The large reptile immediately lifted its large clawed hands up into the air and immediately threw them towards the Quantity in the middle…

"I activate my trap card!" Price announced as he threw his arm to the side, making a powerful orb of energy covered the entire field, lifting up all three of the Quantities, the Poisonous Viper, and the arms of the Gagagigo into the air. "Zero Gravity switches the battle position of every monster on the field!"

'_I see, that's why he kept Poisonous Viper in attack mode, if I had a stronger monster out, then his trap would've put his monster in attack mode,'_ Bogard thought looking at the last card in his hand._ 'Too bad I've now got a great meat shield now… However, those three Quantities can still attack me directly next turn. But we'll see how long that lasts.'_

"I'll end my turn," Bogard announced as another card popped out of his deck. "And that means you get another monster teach, enjoy a second Poisonous Viper!"

Once again, Bogard tossed the card towards Price and just as quickly as Price caught the card, he slapped the card onto his duel disk with a second Poisonous Viper coiling around with the first (100/200).

"Now, for some well deserved payback," Bogard snickered with a snap of his fingers. "Feel free to draw your next card, teach!"

Nervously, Price did draw from his deck, and then both snakes bit into his legs, making his eyes bug out from behind his glasses, "GAH! That smarts!" (PLP: 6500)

"What's the matter, teach?" Bogard laughed with his arms crossed. "Not a fan of snakes?"

"Actually, snakes are fine," Price replied as he fitted two cards into his duel disk, making them appear behind his five monsters. "I just can't stand being bitten!"

"I doubt anyone does like getting bitten by snakes," Bogard pointed out with a dull look in his eyes.

"And I doubt anyone likes getting shot!" Price retorted throwing his hand forward, making all three of his Quantities stand up, taking aim with the sniper rifles in their hands.

"Oh for the love of…" Bogard started before all three of the lasers slammed into his chest, making him stumble backwards. "You gonna play something other than cheap moves?" (BLP: 5000)

"I… I'm just trying my best," Price answered rubbing the back of his head. "My deck is actually rather strong, I just…"

"Bleck!" Bogard gagged as he reached for his deck. "You done with your turn, oldie?"

Quickly turning a card on the duel disk, Price made the second Poisonous Viper crouch down defensively, and then Price nodded as Bogard drew from his deck, "Heh, man, I can't get a read on you, teach. You're acting all nervous here, but what happened to that big man who came up with this duel in the first place? Or was that all an act?"

"Uh, w-well," Price mumbled out loud.

Slowly, the door to the restroom began to creek open slightly, allowing a familiar scarf wearing student to peer inside, '_I'm curious about that too. And although he's winning, Price isn't showing any confidence.'_

"Forget it," Bogard sighed as he held up another card from his hand. "I'm more interested in playing this spell card, the Spellbook in the Pot, now, both of us can draw three cards from our decks."

Price nodded as he pulled off the top three cards from his deck, while Bogard did the same. However, Bogard smirked as he looked at the cards. "And it looks like the fun just keeps on going. I activate another continuous spell card, known as Cursed Card Seal!"

Several chains erupted from the swampy waters, immediately looping over both of Price's face down cards, making the professor jump slightly. "W-What the?"

"This powerful spell card," Bogard chuckled as a dreadful aura loomed over his body. "May cost me a thousand life points, but as long as it's out, you can't activate any of your set cards." (BLP: 4000)

"W-What?" Price yelped with his eyes widening.

"No need to worry though," Bogard chuckled looking over the three remaining cards in his hand. "My spell removes itself from play after two of my Stand By Phases, but until then, I summon Dark Anaconda!"

The water began to ripple alongside the Gogiga Gagagigo's body, allowing a long and large black scaled anaconda to rise itself from the swamp (1750/200). "Now, I'll turn my giant lizard back to attack mode and get into my battle phase! Gogiga Gagagigo! Smash one of those tin cans!"

The large lizard roared loudly before it threw its claw towards the middle Quantity and immediately sliced its claws through its small body and immediately shattered it into millions of pieces. (PLP: 4050)

"Next up, Dark Anaconda!" Bogard continued with a snap of his fingers, making the anaconda hiss loudly before it leapt forward and wrap around the second Quantity and crushed it within its body. "HA! Easiest cards I ever got!" (PLP: 2800)

Price bit his lower lip as he fitted the two monster cards into his graveyard slot, "I… I haven't lost yet!"

"Please, with the way you're playing," Bogard sighed with a shrug of his shoulders. "I'm surprised you're even a duelist, sure, you managed to get me with some cheap shots, but the moment I end my turn, I can summon the final Poisonous Viper and inflict fifteen hundred points of damage to your life points. And unless you've got a three tribute monster somewhere in that deck of yours, you won't be able to get rid of all three of them, and I'll be able to burn even more of your life points.

"Just face it, you're outclassed by your own student! You don't even deserve to be a duelist!"

Looking over the last two cards in his hand, Bogard shook his head as he crossed his arms, "But anyway, I'm ending my turn. So, here's my final gift!"

Bogard quickly tossed the third and final Poisonous Viper towards Price who caught the card and placed it on his duel disk, the third and final viper coiled around his body (100/200).

Price took a deep breath before he drew his next card, and all three of the vipers biting him in his leg, however, unlike the last time he was bitten, Price didn't react at all. (PLP: 1300)

Looking over the card he drew, Price reached for his glasses and pulled them off of his face, "Save your breath kid. You steal cards and money, you insult my credibility as a duelist and you play underhanded tricks – I have no time or interest to listen to words of a thief."

Both Bogard and Mustang's eyes widened when they heard Price's words.

"I activate the spell card – White Elephant's Gift!" Price announced as he turned around the card he drew. "Now, by sending the last Quantity that I have, I can draw two more cards!"

The last small robot disappeared from Price's field, instantly allowing Price to add two more cards to his now seven card hand. "Now, then, I activate another spell card – Black Hole!"

"WHAT?" Bogard yelped as a large orb of dark energy erupted in the middle of the field, immediately pulling in all five monsters on the field and crushing them into nothing. "T-That's… That's a cheap card!"

"It's also on the list of approvable cards," Price replied fitting another card into his duel disk. "I also chain it with another spell card – Emergency Provisions! Now, by sending Black Hole, Long-Range Strike, and one of my face down cards to the graveyard, I can increase my life points by one thousand each while wiping the field clear of your cold-blooded monsters!" (PLP: 4300)

"Gone, but not forgotten!" Bogard announced as his graveyard slot began to glow brightly. "You should know something about my Black Anaconda, when destroyed by a card effect, I can special summon a level four or lower Reptile monster from my graveyard. And I choose my Venom Cobra!"

The water in front of Bogard displaced and allowed a large cobra to appear around the capped duelist's body (100/2000). "And I'll keep him in defense mode!"

"Actually, I'm glad you did that," Price announced has he held up a card from his hand. "Since you have a monster and I don't, I can normal summon this next monster without a tribute…

"Arch Mech Sensou!"

A ring of light appeared in front of Price, unleashing a tall daunting, mechanical figure onto the field before him. Slowly the mechanical figure stood up, revealing that it was a man shaped machine covered with white, blue and black armor that had many sharp points jutting from the chest armor and helmet. On the sides of the machine's arms were what appeared to be a pair of steel blades that looked as if they could slide out from the machine's arms.

The machine aimed its red eyes at Bogard before it slammed its fists together, generating a large amount of electricity from the mechanical fists (2300/500).

"Hmm?" Bogard muttered to himself as he looked at the card on Price's duel disk, realizing what rarity of the card that Price just played. "Heh, how long have you been hiding that gem? That's a ghost rare!"

"I just happened to draw it," Price answered holding up another card. "Speaking of drawing, I'll play another spell card, one known as Frontline Base! Now, once per turn, I can special summon a union monster from my hand, and thanks to you, I've got one right here! I special summon Kamakiri Blades!"

From over the Arch Mech's shoulders leapt a large green armored machine that was designed to resemble that of a praying mantis with large bladed arms and red glowing eyes (1400/800). "And like I said, this is a union monster, and I'll do what union monsters do best, combine with others!"

The Kamakiri Blades leapt into the air, a large amount of light emitting from its joints separating the machine and allowing the parts to fall towards the Arch Mech Sensou. The man-shaped machine lifted its arms up, allowing the blades of the mantis to connect to its wrists with green armor appearing on its own while the rest of the metallic mantis' body connected itself to the back of the man-shaped machine (2300/500 + 300/0). The armed machine now lifted his arms up and towards Bogard.

"Not very menacing," Bogard admitted with a large smirk on his face. "Although, looking at the rarity on both it and the monster you've got equipped to it, I can see that both probably have some decent effects to them."

"Then how about instead of explaining what they can do," Price offered as he snapped his fingers, making the Arch Mech leap across the swampy field. "I show you! Sensou! Attack his Cobra! Kamakiri Cutter!"

Spinning around, the powerful machine monster slashed both of its green blades through the large cobra's body and cut it into several large chunks that flew around Bogard's body.

"Thanks again, teach," Bogard chuckled as one of his face down cards began to lift up, allowing a loud hiss to echo through the bathroom. "Thanks to you destroying my monster, I can use my Snake Whistle trap card to call out another reptile! This time, I'm thinking Oshaleon in attack mode!"

The trap card shattered, instantly allowing another large reptilian monster to appear in front of Bogard, this one however, was a cute chameleon creature with rainbow like scales with several star prints on its body (1400/800). "Now then, why don't you just end your turn and I'll just get started with mine so I can…"

"Actually, it's still my battle phase," Price pointed out.

"Yeah, and you only have one monster out," Bogard retorted with a dulled look in his eyes. "So unless you're going to set some more useless cards, I suggest you end your turn!"

"Actually, I've still got one more attack," Price commented as Arch Mech Sensou lifted its arms up into the air. "And I intend on using it! Sensou! Attack again!"

"WHAT?" Bogard yelped he watched both of the curved blades slice through his large, cute reptile, shattering the monster into millions of pixels. "URK!" (BLP: 2800)

As Sensou leapt back to Price's field, the professor couldn't help but smirk to himself, which caught the attention of Mustang who was watching the events unfold from the hallway. '_This is just like what happened before with Eiji's duel, it's almost as if there's another person dueling in Price's place. How curious…'_

"H-How the hell did you pull that off?" Bogard ordered regaining his composure, or whatever composure he had before.

"Did you forget about my Kamakiri Blades already?" Price questioned as he gestured towards the armed Sensou. "Union monsters tend to give a good ability to the equipped monsters, and this one's no different. You see, once per turn, when the equipped monster destroys another monster in battle, I can have my Arch Mech attack a second time, just so long as you have another monster on your field."

"So basically, I just walked into that?" Bogard questioned with his eye twitching slightly. "W-Well, that doesn't matter! Thanks to your attack, I can activate Oshaleon's effect – allowing me to take a reptile monster from my deck just so long as it has five hundred or less attack points!"

A single card popped out of Bogard's deck and into his hand, making the capped duelist chuckle to himself, "So thanks."

"No problem," Price replied looking over the last three cards in his hand. "Since your spell card still has two turns left, I'll refrain from setting any more of my cards face down, so my turn is done."

"About time," Bogard sighed as he drew from his deck, his eyes curling slightly. '_And yet another rare card I added to this deck of mine, and I've got one of my headliners right here to boot! But first…'_

"I'll start this turn by summoning a familiar face," Bogard chuckled as he slapped the card onto his duel disk, allowing the swampy water to displace once again, unleashing a familiar gray scaled lizard with a long matted down mane of white fur protruding from its neck (500/400). "Ipiria! So, I can draw another card from my deck!"

Pulling off the card from his deck, Bogard's smirk grew more devious, '_Heh, so, I draw you eh? Too bad I can't use you this turn, I've only got two more cards in my hand to work with, but next turn as soon as I draw, I can instantly work you in! _

'_Now, back to the matter at hand…'_

"I activate my trap card!" Bogard announced as the water in front of him erupted. "Call of the Haunted! Now, thanks to it I can bring back another familiar face!"

"Going to bring back Gogiga Gagagigo?" Price questioned.

"That weakling?" Bogard chuckled as the Dark Anaconda (1750/200) reappeared in front of him, hissing loudly. "Please, compared to what I'm about to do, he's nothing more than an overgrown iguana! I activate the Quick Summon spell card!"

The waters underneath both of Bogard's monsters began to bubble, making both of the reptiles look down in time to see two massive snake heads erupt from underneath them and chomp down on both of them to drag them beneath the waves of swamp water. "Now, my spell allows me to normal summon immediately, so I can now tribute both of my reptiles in order to bring out the king of my deck!"

The swampy water at Bogard's feet began to churn, its bright blue waters immediately changing into murky dark purple ooze that shifted around as several purple scaled snakes began to rise up from the waters, each of them a different size and breed (although, Mustang noted that all of the snakes were of the venomous persuasion). All of the snakes hissed loudly as they slowly began to coil around each other resembling a vague human shape as some of the purple ooze began to climb on the snakes' bodies.

The ooze began to shift and churn over the mass of snakes, immediately solidifying into a royal robes and a cobra shaped crown with another pair of golden snakes erupting from its back. The creature lifted the sleeves of the robe, revealing the hands that were made up of the coiled snakes (0/0). "Vennominon the King of Poisonous Snakes! Feel the terror in your veins at the sight of this powerful demon and beg for…"

At that very moment, Price yawned loudly with small tears appearing in the corner of his eyes, "I'm sorry, I didn't get a lot of sleep last night and I've been busy all day. Were you saying something?"

"Pay attention to my threats, damn it!" Bogard snarled as he pulled down his cap over his eyes. "Especially when I summon one of the most dangerous monsters in this entire game, and Vennominon gains that title because for each reptile in the graveyard, he gains five hundred attack points!

"And if you lost count, there are the three Poisonous Vipers, my two Ipirias, one Gogiga Gagagigo, the Venom Cobra, my Oshaleon and my Dark Anaconda for a total of nine monsters… So his attack strength rivals that of the legendary Ultimate Dragon!"

A powerful dark aura erupted over Vennominon's body, making all of the snakes that made up its body hiss loudly (0/0 + 4500/0).

"… So?" Price questioned with a large smirk on his face.

"SO! THAT'S ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY!" Bogard snarled stomping his foot into the floor a few times. "I bust out a powerful monster in one turn and that's all you have to say?"

"Power isn't everything," Price pointed out. "Every duelist knows that if you just rely on a strong monster, you're just destined to fail."

"But I'm not just relying on my monster," Bogard pointed out as he cracked his neck a few times. "Thanks to my Cursed Card Seal, that face down card of yours is rendered useless! So, I'm safe to do this! Vennominon! Attack his rust bucket!"

All of the snakes inside the sleeves of the robe flew from the sleeves and flew towards Sensou… However…

"Looks like I'll have my work cut out for me when I get to the academy," Price sighed as the Kamakiri Blades on the Arch Mech flew from its body (2300/500) and intercepted the oncoming snakes, unfortunately, the snakes merely coiled around the weapons and crushed them. "Cause it looks like you don't know that most Union monsters take the hit for the equipped monster instead. I still take damage, but Sensou remains." (PLP: 2400)

"Yes, but I'm right back in the lead," Bogard chuckled looking at the card in his hand – Snake Rain. '_And as soon as my next turn comes, depending on what I draw, I'll play this spell card and empower him to overpower anything he's got! But before that…'_

"I'll end my turn, but since I'm doing that, I can still use my Swamp of the Dragon Snake, so, I think I'll give you my Gigobyte!"

Price quickly caught the card and slapped it on his duel disk, allowing a small green skinned reptile monster appear in front of him, its arms crossed over his small chest (350/300). "Giving yourself some more fodder to work with?"

"Perhaps, but just be glad that I can only have three Poisonous Vipers in my deck," Bogard answered as Price drew his next card. "Otherwise, you'd be taking some more burning damage!"

"Yes, yes," Price muttered out loud as he looked at the card he drew. "But you don't, so we won't dwell on that. For now, I'll switch Sensou and Gigobyte to defense mode, and I'll set another monster face down."

The two monsters on Price's field crouched down and crossed their arms over their chests while a set monster appeared between the two of them. "Then, I'll set two more cards face down, and end my turn."

"And then it's my turn," Bogard chuckled, pulling off the top card from his deck and turned it over. '_Hmm… This could be useful, especially since my Cursed Card Seal is now removed from play and he can use his face down cards. Hmm… I may want to hold off on using Snake Rain for now.'_

"First off, one set card," Bogard announced as he fitted a card into his duel disk, making it appear behind Vennominon. "Next, Vennominon! Attack Sensou!"

All of the snakes on Vennominon all hissed loudly as they flew from the snake deity's body and towards the metallic monster.

"Actually, I'm activating my face down trap card – Shift!" Price announced as all of the snakes instantly changed direction towards the face down monster, all of them wrapping around it. "So, you're attacking my face down monster, and let's show what this bad boy is!"

The face down card shattered, revealing in its place a familiar jar with a single eye and a mouth of yellow teeth at the opening of the jar (700/600). "Morphing Jar!"

Bogard's eyes widened as he watched the jar shatter, "Damn it!"

"What's wrong?" Price asked as he fitted the two cards from his hand into hid duel disk's graveyard slot, and then drew five cards from his deck. "I just gave you a chance to replenish your hand, you should be happy about that."

'_But he ruined my plan to empower Vennominon!'_

Slowly, Bogard snapped off the top five cards from his deck and slowly looked them over with a curled smirk on his face. '_Actually, this might just work out even better, I just drew three more of the rare cards that I took before. And I drew something else of my strategy, but first things first, I can't give him any more of my monsters…'_

"Since you were so helpful in giving me a new hand," Bogard chuckled holding up one of the cards. "I might as well play them! I activate a spell card you used, Emergency Provisions! And I'll use it to get rid of my Swamp of the Dragon Snake!"

As the quick play spell appeared on the field, all of the water in the rest room disappeared, allowing the monsters in the room to land on dry land. (BLP: 3800)

"Not feeling generous any more?" Price asked raising an eyebrow.

"Please, I just don't feel like letting you have any of my good monsters," Bogard replied with a shake of his head. "I gave you three poisonous tricksters, and one useless piece of fodder…"

Price turned his head towards the Gigobyte, who seemed to lower its head slightly, and hissed sadly.

"… Besides, it's always good to have a buffer of life points," Bogard announced as he fitted a pair of cards into his duel disk. "Because now I'm setting two cards face down, and I'm activating the spell card, Ancient Charge!"

Bogard's spell card materialized in front of him, revealing large alligator crashing through a trio of barbarian warriors. "Now, this spell card is quite potent for Reptile decks, whenever one of my reptiles battles a defense monster, I can inflict the difference to your life points!"

"It's a shame that you can't attack again," Price pointed out as Bogard waved the last card in his hand.

"Oh, you'd like to think that, now wouldn't ya?" Bogard responded by turning around the last card in his hand. "I activate the spell card, Surprise Attack from the Darkness! Now, my end phase has just become a second Battle Phase! And as an added bonus, I can have all the monsters that I summoned or attacked with this turn attack again!

"And I think I'll have Vennominon attack the fodder I put on your field! Attack with Venom Barrage!"

Vennominon hissed loudly as the snakes erupted from its sleeves, leaping towards the scared Gigobyte…

… However, just as the snakes were about to strike the small reptile, a powerful barrier erupted over the small reptile's body, knocking all of the snakes back. Price smirked as he held up the card that had saved not only him but the sighing Gigobyte, "Not happening! I activate my trap card, Negate Attack!"

"Humph, big deal," Bogard sighed with a shake of his head. "I'll end my turn."

'_And thanks to the cards I have, your next turn will be your last. If you manage to destroy my king, I can activate my Viper's Grudge trap, and I can summon a level four or lower reptile from my deck or graveyard so I can defend myself._

'_And once you attack that monster, I can use my other trap – Damage = Reptile so I can summon the second Vennominon from my deck and it'll be even stronger! And, to make things more interesting, the last trap card I have is my Limit Reverse trap, so I can special summon the first king! And I'll plow through whatever defenses he'll put up!'_

"Alright, you've shown some potential, kid," Price stated as he drew a sixth card from his deck. "But you kind of tarnished that by being a thief, and for that, you'll have to learn a lesson. And I'm just the professor to do that."

"Please, all you've taught me is how corny one liners can be," Bogard chuckled with his arms crossed over his chest. "And you can save that lesson for someone who gives two shits."

"You'll be that person in only a few moments," Price answered as he lifted up two cards from his hand. "First, I activate the spell card, Monster Reincarnation, so by discarding Gozou Bagon from my hand, I can add Kamakiri Blades back to my hand, but it won't be there for too long, I activate Frontline Base's effect to bring out and equip the Kamakiri Blades!"

In a green light, the arm blades reappeared on Sensou's body, making the metallic warrior stand up and throw a few punches through the air (2300/500 + 300/0). "Next, I'll activate the spell card – Forbidden Chalice and for its target, I choose Vennominon!"

A large chalice appeared over Vennonminon's head, making the demonic snakes hiss in confusion and having Bogard raise an eyebrow at it, "And what does this card do?"

"It grants your monster four hundred attack points," Price explained as the chalice tipped over, spilling the contents over Vennonminon's head, making its body steam and having its snakes hiss loudly in pain. "But in return, your monster loses its effects until the end phase."

"W-Wait, then that means…!" Bogard gasped as the mighty King of Poisonous Snakes fell to the ground, its entire body steaming from the water that was just dumped on it (4500/0 – 4100/0). "NO!"

"And it only gets better," Price announced as he lifted a pair of cards from his graveyard slot. "Remember when I played my Emergency Provisions? And when I activated my Morphing Jar's effect? Well, two cards that I sent to the graveyard were two copies of the card – Skill Successor, meaning now, I can remove both of them from play in order to empower Sensou even further!"

A powerful red aura rushed over Sensou's body, making the machine's blue body change to a deep crimson (2600/500 + 1600/0).

"B-But! I still have my three face down cards!" Bogard pointed out with a smirk on his face. "For all you know, one of them is Mirror Force or even Magic Cylinder, if you attack then I'll activate them and you'll lose!"

"… Perhaps…" Price chuckled running a hand through his hair. "And I might just lose this turn, so perhaps I should refrain from attacking."

Bogard almost breathed a sigh of relief…

"Although," Price stated holding his hand up towards Bogard. "A fight every now and then does make life a little more interesting, don't ya think? Sensou! Attack Vennonminon, Dual Kamakiri Cutter!"

Mustang's eyes bugged out as he watched the now red armored machine dash across the field, '_If this connects, then Price will win, but Bogard was right. If one of those cards is one that he mentioned then Price will lose…'_

However, Bogard never went for his duel disk, rather he lifted his arms up to protect himself as Vennonminon was sliced through by the powerful blades, sending the pixilated remains right through Bogard's body, his hat flying off of his head as his life points began to fall to zero, "GAAAAAAAAH!" (BLP: 0)

"And the final bell has rung," Price stated as the holograms began to disappear. "Your grade – Failure."

"Y-You're nuts man!" Bogard growled as he picked up his cap, and quickly used it to cover his hair. "I had three set cards, why did you attack!"

"Because," Price answered holding up two cards in his hand. "It didn't matter to me if you had the best traps in the world on your field, I had these cards in my hand."

Price turned the cards around to reveal the Quick-Play Spell card – Trap Booster, while the other card was Royal Decree. "Your traps would've been negated and you still would've lost."

Taking a moment to breathe, Price quickly placed his glasses back on his face and smiled innocently at Bogard, "Now then, as to the terms of our deal, you now have to turn yourself in, young man."

A chill ran down both Bogard's and Mustang's spines when Price smiled, and they both thought the same thing at the same time, '_What is with this guy!'_

**TTTTTT**

_Time: 9:49 p.m. _

At the same cafeteria where Hibiki has requested Price's assistance, Hibiki was seated at a table with her head resting atop of it. It had been a good forty minutes since the thief had managed to elude her and Price, and at this rate, it was a sure fire guess that Hibiki would lose her job.

'_I might as well get this over with,'_ Hibiki thought to herself as she slowly lifted her head off the table. '_I'm not looking forward to getting one of Hund's speeches, but I need to get it out of the way quickly…'_

Before she could get away from the table however, a familiar cashbox with a large stack of cards resting atop of it was placed in front of her. "Is… That…"

Standing behind the cashbox itself was none other than Price, who had a bashful smile on his face with a little blush, "Um, y-yeah, Hibiki-tan. I turned Bogard into the security on the boat, and they'll discuss a proper punishment for him when we reach the island. Luckily, he only had his deck and the cards he took from you on him when I caught him, so by looking at the deck list he provided, we were able to determine what cards were…"

Price didn't get a chance finish when Hibiki immediately leapt from her seat and wrapped her arms around Price's torso, making his face turn completely red, "!"

"I… Um, w-well…" Price stammered, nearly dropping the cashbox and cards. "It… It was no big d-deal…"

"But it was!" Hibiki replied sternly, not loosing her grip (much to Price's embarrassment). "If Hund found out that I lost all the profits here, then my tail would be on the back burner! I… I don't know what to say!"

"Uh, y-you're t-thanks is all t-that I n-n-need," Price stuttered, trying to slip out from Hibiki's embrace… And failing. "A-And if you could l-let me g-g-go, I'd…"

"Tell ya what!" Hibiki announced with a catty grin on her face. "How about if you ever need a boost in your deck, you come on down to my shop and I'll give you a special discount."

"I… I um…" Price muttered. "… Uh, I a-appreciate it, b-but you don't h-have to…"

Meanwhile, leaning against the doors of the cafeteria stood Mustang, his arms crossed over his chest, '_At one moment, this professor's dangerous and capable of pulling out from one of the worst situations in a duel… And at another, he's as timid as a kitten. _

'_Hmm, maybe his classes will make this year a bit more interesting.'_

TBC

**TTTTTTTT**

**Card Stats**

**Ipiria / Earth / LV. 3 / ATK: 500 / DEF: 500 / Reptile/Effect:** When this card is Normal Summoned, draw 1 card.

**Description:** a silver scaled iguana emerge from the water with its white mane of hair matted to its slim body

_This card was used by Gansely in the original Yu-Gi-Oh! Anime_

**Swamp of the Dragon Snake / Continuous Spell / Effect:** During each of your end phases, special summon one Level Four or lower Reptile-Type monster from your deck to your opponent's side of the field.

**Image:** A glowing serpent emerging from a dreary swamp.

**Poisonous Viper / Earth / LV. 1 / ATK: 100 / DEF: 200 / Reptile/Effect:** During your stand by phase, inflict 500 points of damage to your life points.

**Image:** a long, spotted viper

**Viper's Grudge / Continuous Trap / Effect:** Each time a Reptile-Type monster you control is sent to the graveyard, you can special summon 1 Level 4 or lower Reptile-Type monster from your Deck or Graveyard

**Image:** A snake prepared to attack a warrior that's looming over a dead snake

_The preceding three cards were used by Seika in the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX manga._

**Ancient Charge / Continuous Spell / Effect:** When a Reptile-Type monster attacks and its ATK is Higher than the DEF of an opponent's Defense Position monster, inflict the difference as damage to the opponent.

**Image:** An alligator crashing through a trio of warriors.

_This card was used by Jim in the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX manga._

**Spellbook in the Pot / Normal Spell / Effect:** Both players draw three cards from their decks.

**Image:** Several spell books falling into a Pot of Greed.

_This card was used in the Yu-Gi-Oh! R manga._

**Quick Summon / Quick-Play Spell / Effect:** Normal Summon or Set 1 monster from your hand.

**Image:** A group of rescue workers going into action with a siren

_This card was used by Judai in the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX anime._

**Quantity / Earth / LV. 1 / ATK: 500 / DEF: 400 / Machine**

**Description:** A small white armored robot

**Long-Range Strike / Continuous Spell / Effect:** Level 3 or lower Machine-Type monsters you control can attack your opponent directly.

**Image:** A large sniper rifle

_These two cards were used by David Rabb in the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX manga._

**Surprise Attack from the Darkness / Normal Spell / Effect:** The End Phase of this turn is also treated as a Battle Phase. During this special battle Phase, the monsters you control that were summoned and that battled in this turn can attack again.

**Image:** A knight charging forward, unaware of a similar knight attacking him from the darkness behind him.

_This card was used by Yami Marik/Malik in the original Yu-Gi-Oh! Anime, and its name in the English Dub was Surprise attack from Beyond._

**Cursed Card Seal / Continuous Spell / Effect:** Pay 1000 Life Points. As long as this card is face up on the field, your opponent cannot activate set spell or trap cards. During your second stand by phases after this card was activated, remove this card from play.

**Image:**

**Dark Anaconda / Dark / LV. 4 / ATK: 1750 / DEF: 200 / Reptile/Effect:** When this card is destroyed by a card effect, you may special summon one level four or lower Reptile-Type monster from your graveyard (you cannot select 'Dark Anaconda').

**Description:**

**Arc Mech Sensou / Light / LV. 5 / ATK: 2300 / DEF: 500 / Machine/Effect:** If your opponent controls at least one monster and you do not, you may normal summon this card from your hand without a tribute. This card cannot have its ATK and DEF lowered by card effects.

**Description:** a man shaped machine covered with white, blue and black armor that had many sharp points jutting from the chest armor and helmet. On the sides of the machine's arms were what appeared to be a pair of steel blades that looked as if they could slide out from the machine's arms

**Kamakiri Blades / Wind / LV. 3 / ATK: 1400 / DEF: 800 / Machine/Union:** Once per turn, during your Main Phase, if you control this monster on the field you can equip it to one Machine-Type monster as an Equip Spell card, OR change it back to a monster in face-up Attack position. When equipped to a monster by this card's effect, that monster gains 300 ATK. Once per turn, when the equipped monster destroys a monster in battle, the equipped monster may attack an additional time (the equipped monster cannot attack your opponent's life points directly with this effect). (A monster can only be equipped with 1 Union Monster at a time. If the equipped monster would be destroyed, this card is destroyed instead.)

**Description:** a large green armored machine that was designed to resemble that of a praying mantis with large bladed arms and red glowing eyes

**TTTTTTTT**

**How the hell did you get in here?**

**I've had enough!**

**This is the spice of life!**

**You're not so tough!**

**Oh man… This isn't good…**

**How the hell did you pull that off?**

**W-What the? **

**If you're not going to do anything**

**I'll take matters into my own hands**

**Prepare yourself…**

**For a true duelist!**

**Simply delightful**

_**Don't think that just because I'm eccentric…**_

_**That I'm weak!**_

_**Draw 3**_

_**Opening Night**_

**Author's Notes: By the way, brownie points if anyone can guess the name of the song that was used in this chapter.**


	3. Draw 3: Opening Night

_**I have often wondered what it means to be a professor for young minds, and so far, I haven't really helped any of my students – I've only fought against them, one for their right to get into the academy, and the other to punishment him for stealing from a fellow co-worker. **_

_**Maybe it's just my bad luck with students, or maybe its fate. Heck maybe it's just me as well. **_

_**But, I at least have a year to at least start to get the hang of being a professor, maybe not one that's as good as Professor Hund, but maybe one almost as good. I shouldn't try to put myself down before the first class bell rings though.**_

_**Tomorrow's going to be the first day of classes, and in all honesty I'm nervous, but in all honesty, who wouldn't be? **_

_**-sigh-**_

_**I've got until tomorrow to get rid of these doubts, after all, it wouldn't be good to show this to my new students. At least I'm going to see some of my fellow professors do their work. In all honesty, I think it's a good thing for students to see how their professors operate – After all, they are going to learn from them, and to see how they respond in very high tense situations.**_

_**All of these professors all have more experience than me, and even though each of them have different personalities, come in several shapes and sizes, and each have their own method of teaching. I can only hope that I can become half the teacher that one of them is.**_

… _**I just hope that I don't become as crazy as they are…**_

**TTTT**

_**Draw 3**_

_**Opening Night**_

**TTTTTTTTTT**

_Time: 11:39 p.m._

Hours had passed since the duel between Price and Bogard took place, and a number of students had fallen asleep in their rooms, allowing the gentle rocking of the ship at seas to cradle them safely as the ship continued on its course.

However, one student was wide awake, as evident by the fact he was standing atop of the ship, arms crossed.

Mustang sighed loudly as he crossed his arms.

There was something that didn't sit well with him, preventing him from sleeping. So, in an attempt to relax, he retreated to the top of the ship's cabins and watched as the vast emptiness of the ocean slowly passed by the ship. Normally, he'd spend time atop of his dorms and watch the salty waves crash against the beach near his dorm building.

But this was just as good.

Still, it was an oddly cold night out on the sea, prompting him to tighten the red scarf he had on his person. He would've zipped up his blue overcoat, but he had a separate feeling in the back of his mind warning him that it would've been a bad idea…

"So there you are!"

Without even looking, Mustang chuckled under his breath as the same girl who sang on the stage walked up behind him, her arms crossed over her chest in an attempt to keep warm. "You realize it's dangerous up here, right Tenri?"

The fiery red headed Tenri glared at the scarf wearing man, "Well, then what about you? You shouldn't be up here if it's that dangerous."

"Point taken," Mustang answered back as he began to take off his overcoat, revealing the baggy muscle shirt he was wearing. "Here, you'll catch your death if you dress like that. Sure, your outfit is cute, but you wouldn't want to get sick, now would you?"

The moment that he held the overcoat up, Tenri snapped the coat and wrapped it around her smaller body, the coattails passing her feet. "Hmm, smells good."

"I don't know to take that as flattery," Mustang muttered under his breath. "Anyway, what brings you up here?"

"Well, I'm a little miffed that you didn't come to see my performance earlier," Tenri huffed as she took a seat next to the scarf wearing man. "I mean, even that megane wonder came. Also, what happened earlier? We were going back to the room, but after that, it's a blank."

Mustang broke out in a cold sweat, remembering that Bogard had accidentally pushed Tenri into the floor with Hibiki and Price right on his tail. If Mustang had to guess, that little head trauma was probably the cause of Tenri's lapse of memory. '_Gotta change the subject!'_

"Megane wonder, eh?" Mustang questioned before he snapped his fingers. "Oh, you're talking about that Price character, right?"

"Yeah, I couldn't tell before, but he's got a nice body," Tenri answered with a large grin on her face. "Almost as good as yours, I might add."

"And how would you know what my body looks like?" Mustang questioned turning his attention away from the ocean.

"Oh, I'll let your imagination decide that," Tenri cooed. "But, other than that, I didn't see anything special about him. So I don't know what you see."

"I learned last year that you need to look for the students that cause a stir," Mustang replied as he crossed his arms, trying to keep warm. "They always know how to make things interesting during the year."

"Seriously?" Tenri questioned raising an eyebrow. "Sometimes I wonder what's going on in that head of yours. But then I remember that you've got a handsome face, and that's what really important."

"… You have a weird way of words," Mustang sighed with a shake of his head. "But, whatever, if last year was any indication when we got the last batch of duelists that our quaint little island is anything but quiet during the school year."

"So, what are you going to do then?" Tenri asked, slowly inching closer to the scarf wearing man.

"… I think I'm going to have to call in a favor or two," Mustang answered turning down towards Tenri. "And I'll have to ask you for a favor as well."

"Well then," Tenri snickered, wrapping her arms around the scarf wearing man's leg. "I can think of a few ways for you to call in that favor quite easily."

Mustang sighed under his breath.

**TTTTTTTT**

_Time: 7:07 a.m._

After a calm night on the seas, the ship was finally reaching the docks of Duel Academia, the school dedicated to training elite duelists, located on a large, lush island. From the boat the students could see the large island that only getting closer by the second – From the large docks themselves, to the large volcano that nestled the academy's main buildings, to the lush forests that covered the island's landscape.

All in all, it was a beautiful and breathtaking sight for anyone's eyes…

"I'M KING OF THE WOLRD!"

"Someone stop that idiot! He's going to fall over the side of the boat!"

… Looks like cabin fever sets in a lot faster than people expect.

It wasn't long until the ship had finally docked at the island's port, allowing the students to rush off the boat and wait for further instructions…

"Attention all duelists!" Hund announced through the megaphone, walking down the bridge from the boat to the dock. "It was a good night and I'm surprised that none of you made the mistake of breaking the rules. Now, I'm only going say this once, so pay attention!

"First off, you will all report to the main building of the academy where the headmaster will deliver his welcoming speech and…"

Hund stopped until one of the proctors ran up to his side and whispered something into his ear, making him slap his forehead. "What? Are you kidding me? He's gone again? Am I the only competent person on the payroll?"

Sighing to the side, Hund pulled the megaphone back to his face, "Alright, change of plans. When you viewed your final scores from the final examinations, your name was written in one of three colors – Red, yellow and blue. 

"We will have the professors hold up the signs just like before at the examinations, and you will follow them to your dorms. There, a roll call will be performed and you shall receive your uniforms, PDAs, room-assignments and will receive your welcome speech from your respective dorm leaders."

Reaching down, Hund lifted up a large blue sign over his head, an annoyed look plastered over his face, "All those in blue are to follow me."

Price yawned loudly as he stood next to Hund, his eyelids looking heavy and his hair a mess, "W-What's going o-on, Hund?"

"… Price, fix yourself before you speak," Hund growled, making Price stand up straight and comb his hair with his hands. "And why are you acting as such? Sea sickness at night?"

"Uh, n-not really," Price mumbled as he adjusted the glasses on his face before he gained what little composure he had to his name. "I was just…"

That's when it hit Price, '_W-Wait, if H-Hund finds about w-w-what happened with H-H-Hibiki-tan getting robbed, I-I might get her in t-t-t-trouble…'_

"Uh, y-yes sir!" Price yelped with a nervous look on his face. "I… I didn't k-know that I g-g-get ill at s-s-sea till l-l-last night, s-s-so…"

"I see," Hund replied as he walked over to the side, immediately grabbing hold of a pair of signs (one red and the other blue). "Oh yes, that reminds me, about that student that caused trouble last night, security informed me that they'll be sending him back to the mainland at the end of the day."

"Oh, I… I see…" Price muttered taking the red sign from Hund.

… And that's when it sunk in. "H-H-Huh! Y-Y-You knew?"

"I'm on good terms with the security team on the island," Hund answered with his arms crossed as he held his sign up, drawing quite a few students to him. "And I had asked if there was any trouble during the night, the little fiasco between you, Bogard and Miss Ayukawa…"

"Who?" Price asked, blinking a few times.

"… Ayukawa is Hibiki's surname," Hund explained with a dull look. "Still though, I heard the details from the security staff, and I have to say Price, catching a troublemaker on your first day. Not too shabby."

"T-Thank you, sir!" Price replied, with a slight salute.

"This isn't the military, Price," Hund sighed walking with his students. "In any case, head to your dorm, I'm certain that the other Red Dorm headmaster will any questions you have from now on. Her name's Machi Kagami, trust me, you'll know it's her…"

"R-Right," Price stuttered as he held up his own sign. "A-All students in r-r-red, p-please follow me!"

One half an hour and one drawn out walk later…

"This is the red dorm?"

"What the hell?"

"It's more like a damn outhouse!"

"We're stuck with this… Aren't we?"

Indeed, the Osiris Red dormitory wasn't the most impressive building on the island. It was essentially just a two storied building that looked more like a rural motel with a coat of red paint on it. In addition to the main building, there appeared to be two additional buildings on both sides of the dorm.

Still, that didn't help the fact that the dormitory was nothing more than a roach motel.

Even Price was a little taken back at the sight of the run down dorm, he wasn't the most optimistic person around, but he had hoped that the dorm that he was assigned to look after would at least be better than his first apartment when he was in college.

But this… This was just plain wrong.

'_There's a difference between a fixer-upper,_' Price thought as he dropped his briefcase, his duffle-bag and the red sign to the grassy ground. '_And a building that deserves to be evicted and torn down!'_

"Ah, so you must be the new guy!"

Price blinked a few times as he looked around, wondering where that voice came from, for a moment, he thought it was one of the students. But most of them were actually chatting amongst themselves (probably complaining about the condition of their living accommodations), so none of them would address him.

"Hmm, you're a bit taller than I heard from Hund."

There was that voice again. Price tapped his ear a few times, was he starting to crack already?

"… And boy, you're dense. Look down, you idiot!"

Price did as he was told, and was met with an angry face looking right back up at him, of course, that surprised Price and made him jump back slightly, "Ack!"

"'bout time you noticed me," sighed the angry face. "Seriously, you don't look like the airheaded type, but I know first hand that looks can be deceptive."

There was more than a face, but Price could understand why he couldn't see the owner of that voice and face – The person who was talking was incredibly short! She was almost about half of Price's height, with long charcoal colored hair that was streaming down past her shoulders and back (although, she had two tails of hair at the sides that were tied with white string). The girl was dressed in a red jacket that looked to be the same make as Price's, only smaller and she had a pair of black hakama that billowed over her legs.

"Oh," Price chuckled sheepishly as he leaned forward slightly. "Uh, h-hello…"

"And you stutter?" The girl sighed with a shake of her head. "Yeesh, you're going to fun to work with. And Hund said that you had some potential as a teacher."

"I… I find that a b-b-bit rude," Price retorted standing up straight, trying to look a little more intimidating than he usually was. "D-Don't you know y-you're supposed to respect your e-elders, right l-little girl?"

A small blood vessel appeared on the side of the girl's face as her right eye twitched slightly, "Elder? I'm older than you, ya dolt!"

"Huh?" Price yelped at the sudden yell. "T-That's some s-s-sort j-joke, right?"

"How about you clean out those ears of yours!" the girl snapped, placing her hands on her hips. "I'm Machi Kagami, professor and headmaster of the Osiris Red Girls' dorm! I'm also your superior, and I demand respect!"

Price could hear the snickers of the students who were behind him, no doubt finding his current situation to be funny. Heck, if it was someone else getting chewed out, Price would've probably chuckle himself.

Unfortunately, this was happening to him, and he had apparently sealed his fate cause Machi was stomping up towards him, the fire in her eyes growing stronger with each step she took. "So, listen here Price, you're the new guy here, learn your place!"

Before Price could get a word in, Machi walked past him and set her sights on the freshmen, "And as for you fresh meat, welcome to Osiris Red! Being at the bottom, you only have one place to go – Straight to the top! And I aim to make sure that each and every one of you gets there!

"You'll have to work hard to get out of here, and I'm here to make sure that you do! Soon, the red uniforms you'll be issued will be traded in for yellow and eventually blue, but that's only if you give a hundred and ten percent!

"Now that we've gotten that out of the way, everyone get into the cafeteria. In a few minutes, me and Price here will be handing out your uniforms, PDAs and room assignments."

For a moment, the students just stood and looked at each other, in hopes of getting a response from anyone else. However, save for the sound of crow cawing from above, there was nary a sound to be heard.

This caused a large blood vessel to appear on the side of Machi's head, making her slam her foot into the ground, "Did I stutter like Price over here? GET IN THE CAFETERIA RIGHT NOW!"

And just like that, all of the students ran towards the large room that was marked with a large sign that read 'Cafeteria', not wasting a second as Machi laughed to herself, "Ah, I love it when the freshmen listen to me, I wish I didn't have to yell, but sometimes that's the only way to get through to them."

"Um, d-do I r-really stutter a-all that m-m-much?" Price asked, unaware that he was stuttering when he asked that.

"Just get in the cafeteria," Machi growled, making Price jump slightly to grab his stuff and dash after the freshmen to get to the cafeteria. "I can tell he's not going to be much help this year."

**TTTTTTT**

_Time: 9:32 a.m._

While most of the students were busy unpacking and getting their rooms set to their tastes, a certain blue dressed professor was standing in an office of the main building glaring down at a certain an emptied desk, a large blood vessel appearing on the side of his neck. "… Damn it. Why does he always pull this crap?"

Hund slammed his fist into the top of the desk, sending a loud 'bam' through out the entire room. "He was supposed to deliver a speech to the students after lunch, but without him here, that plan goes out the window, along with the rest of the schedule for the day!"

"Hmm, getting a little hot under the collar, Hund?"

Hund slowly turned around towards the door to the room, just in time to see someone leaning up against the doorway with a smug look plastered over his face. Hund sighed loudly at the sight of the other man, "Oh, it's only you Kimchi, what are you doing here?"

"Kimchi?" the other man sighed as he walked into the room. "Come now Cruger, I have told you so many times that I prefer to be called by my first name – Kudo!"

"We're colleagues," Hund replied with his arms crossed. "And while I suppose I should respect your wishes to refer you to your first name, I'd prefer if you addressed me by my surname."

"Very well, if that's your order," Kudo laughed loudly as he slowly came to a stop. "Then I shall be sure to deliver that request piping hot!"

"Now that we've gotten that comedy gag out of the way," Hund muttered with a roll of his eyes. "What in the world are you doing here?"

"Please Hund," Kudo chuckled with his eyes closed. "When you come to realize that you're missing a key ingredient for a successful recipe, then you need to be able to work with the ingredients that you have in order to make a different, if not delicious dish!"

Hund just stood there with a blank look on his face, "… You realize that I don't speak cook-enese, right?"

"It was more of an example of what to do," Kudo replied with a tap of his temple. "Besides, if you want to start the year off with a bam, a boring old speech by that dried up prune of a headmaster will only make our students bland for the rest of the year. What we need to do is kick them with some spice and we'll light a fire in their hearts!"

"And what do you propose for us to light that fire with?" Hund questioned, actually considering Kudo's suggestion.

Kudo's rugged face curled up once more into a much goofier smirk, almost lighting up the room, "I'm so glad you ask, Hund! We don't have a lot of time, but with what I've got in mind, it'll be easy and quick."

"I'm listening," Hund replied.

**TTTTTTT**

_Time: 10:25 a.m._

He was a man destined to be King.

A man who would push everyone out of the way, step on them if necessary just to get to the top where he would rule over everyone, a man who would never fall from his perch!

There was just one problem with this man's dream…

"YELLOW!"

Yes, the color yellow was his wall, or his case, four yellow walls. Hidari Eiji, the man who was destined to be king was stuck in the Ra Yellow dormitory – Yellow walls, yellow bed sheets, even the uniform blazer was a yellow color.

And the insect duelist hated every second of it!

"THIS ISN'T FAIR!" Eiji snarled as he threw his new yellow blazer against one of the nearby wall, creating a loud smacking sound. His eyes were burning with intensity as he looked around the room – While he didn't win the duel, he was still the top student from the prep school, and that itself had garnered Eiji a chance for some perks.

Like the single dorm room he was in. That way, he could continue his freak outs without being a nuisance to any roommates. But that's not important.

"I was supposed to be the best of the best," Eiji snarled as he messed up his hair with hands, his jaw clenched tightly. "I was supposed to beat Professor Hund! The man who was known for his skills and standing at this academy! I was supposed to become the Kaiser in my first year here!

"And worst of all… I was supposed to be in OBELISK BLUE! Not RA YELLOW! GARGH!"

Falling back onto his bed, Eiji looked straight up at the white painted ceiling, at least he wouldn't wake up with the sight of yellow in his face. That was practically the only good thing about this situation, but it was still bad all around.

"This is hell," Eiji moaned, closing his eyes.

"I didn't think hell could be so lavish," A suave voice sounded, making Eiji sit up straight on his bed, his gaze turning towards the door where a familiar shadowed figure was simply leaning up against the doorframe.

"Oh, it's you," Eiji growled, falling back to his bed. "What the hell do you want?"

"Now, now, now," The shadowed young man replied with a wave of his hand. "Is that anyway to say hello to a fellow classmate who has a dorm warming gift for ya?"

Indeed, to prove this, the shadowed young man lifted up what appeared to be a parody of the traditional fruit basket – Instead of fruits, there seemed to be several electronic devices that ranged from simple handheld game systems, CDs, headphones and there was even a power glove amongst the items in the basket. "That's rather unusual, even for you. And are you trying to be funny or something?"

"Not at all," the shadowed man replied slowly placing the gift basket on the nearby desk in the room. "I happen to treat any comrades I have with the respect they deserve. But you should consider yourself lucky you're not Bogard. He's being kicked out and its not even the first day."

"What?" Eiji questioned, sitting up on his bed, yet again. "When did that happen!"

"Yes," The shadowed student replied with a chuckle. "It was only a few hours ago that he was transferred off of the island. Such a shame actually, he had a lot of potential, both as a duelist and as a hapless goon. Who knows? He could've been a great grunt against some E-Hero duelist whom no one could really defeat."

"Have you been eating wild mushrooms again, or something?" Eiji asked with a dulled look on his face.

"Maybe," The shadowed student replied. "In any case, it doesn't change the fact that Bogard let his greed get the better of him. He was caught and turned into security immediately. And wouldn't you like to know who caught the poor street fighter?

"A certain professor who defeated a certain insect duelist only yesterday."

Eiji's eyes widened before he narrowed them down, "Are you kidding me! Bogard got caught by Price?"

"Not only that," the shadowed student chuckled, wagging one of his fingers a little bit. "But word is that Price and Bogard fought it out against each other on the dueling field before Bogard was brought in."

"What?" Eiji questioned. "Why did they duel! Price's a professor, there was no need to do such a thing!"

"How should I know why they dueled?" the shadowed student countered with a shrug. "In any case, Bogard had many unopened promo packs, it was probably a good shot that he'd draw a few good cards to help improve his deck. And looking at the outcome, I think it might be safe to assume that Professor Price won… Now think about that for a second, what would that mean?"

"Price used his real deck," Eiji growled loudly. "So what?"

"A new professor beating not only the top student from the prep school," The shadowed student answered with his hands brought in front of his chest. "But also another promising student from the prep school – How does it feel to be the stepping stool for another person's trek to the top?"

That made Eiji stagger slightly from his bed, his eyes narrowed down at the shadowed student, "You lousy bastard! How dare you bring that up!"

"I only speak the truth," The shadowed student answered back. "Besides, shouldn't you be more concerned? Price is actually is getting the recognition that was originally yours."

"He's a professor, I'm a student," Eiji replied, his eyes closed. "I may be stuck in Ra Yellow now, but I'll be at the top of the Blue Dorm within the next month. He'll be stuck in the same place for the rest of his career…"

"Oh, and I suppose that hissy fit of yours was just an act for a play you're in?" The shadowed student retorted. When Eiji heard that, his face scrunched up into a nasty scowl that could freeze even a roaring fire. "Regardless of standing, that loss that the professor gave you will always be on your record, forever as a stain on your perfect win streak."

"Get out…" Eiji snarled, his eyes throwing daggers at the shadowed student. "I didn't come to this island to get insulted and…"

"Eiji-kun, you misunderstand me," the shadowed student nervously stated with his hands lifted up defensively. "I didn't mean to insult you, and I apologize. But think of it like this however, this is a chance to make things even better for yourself!"

"What?" Eiji questioned raising an eyebrow. "What are you getting at?"

"Do I really have to spell it out to you?" The shadowed student replied with his arms raised. "If you were defeated by this professor once, imagine what could happen if you could defeat him when he uses his real deck? Not only would you be able to prove that you are the better duelist, but you would be able to prove that you have the ability to learn from your experiences, showing that you're a seasoned player!"

All of a sudden, Eiji's eyes curved slightly along with the smirk that was now plastered on his face. "Yeah… Yeah! YES! That's it! I can regain my glory and show everyone that I was born to be a champ!"

Jumping to his feet, Eiji lifted his right hand into the air, pointing his finger straight up into the sky. "Yeah! Hidari Eiji – The man destined to be king will rise up into the sky like a phoenix! Searing away all who oppose me!"

The shadowed student merely clapped his hands a few times. "Bravo! Bravo! What a majestic proclamation, Eiji-kun. But, before you get ahead of yourself, you might want to think about one little thing.

"Your deck."

"What's wrong with my insects?" Eiji growled, lowering his arm as he narrowed his eyes at the shadowed student.

"Oh, there's nothing wrong with them at all," The shadowed student admitted. "But if you're going to reclaim the glory that was supposed to be yours, you'd need think outside the box, use strategies that have been lost to the sands of time and make them your own…"

Eiji rubbed his chin a few times. "And how do you propose I do this?"

The shadowed student smirked wildly. "Eiji-kun, Eiji-kun, Eiji-kun. You know me, I'd never offer a plan if I didn't have any intention of contributing. You just give me a little time, and I'll get ya what you need."

Eiji narrowed his eyes at the shadowed student, earning himself a confused look, "Something the matter?"

"Why all the sudden interest in helping me?" Eiji muttered, his glare kept on its target without flinching.

"Don't misunderstand, Eiji-kun," The shadowed student replied as he slowly turned around and trotted towards the door. "I am a man who enjoys helping others, I don't like getting handouts and I don't like giving them, but unless a man has the refinement and tools, he's just a useless monkey.

"It's like the old saying – 'Give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he'll eat for a life time.' Essentially, I'm teaching you how to become the champion of the world. Such a title has no interest to me."

"Then why bother trying to teach me to be champ?" Eiji questioned. "What do you get out of this? Answer me – Tengoku!"

The shadowed student Tengoku merely shook his head and began to walk out of the room, his arms folded behind his back.

**TTTTTTTTT**

_Time: 11:23 a.m._

While the students in the red dorm were unpacking their bags, both Price and Machi were seated at one of the many tables in the Red Dorm's small lounge, several books surrounding the two professors…

"And that's what you're supposed to do in case you find a guy sneaking into one of the girls' rooms," Machi explained holding up a glass of milk to her mouth. "Hey! Are you paying attention, Price?"

'_Not really,'_ Price thought with his head planted on the table, a dull look covering his face. '_I know all this stuff from reading the teacher handbook… Which is about fifty-five pages long. Where the hell did she get all of these books?'_

"Listen, ya big idiot!" Machi growled as she slammed the emptied glass of milk onto the table in front of her, making Price jump slightly. "You're just like the freshmen here, and as your senior, I gotta make sure that you know all of the rules and what to do if a student breaks them!"

"… But, I… I already know w-what the rules and p-punishments are though," Price pointed out as he sat up. "I l-learned about t-them over the s-s-summer a-after I got the j-job."

"You want me to wipe off that smart mouth of yours off your face?" Machi asked, her eyes narrowed down at Price.

"Um, I…" Price stammered.

In this world where we have no directions

And where we chase an endless dream…

As the loud music echoed through the cafeteria, Price raised an eyebrow while Machi began to look around the book covered table. "Gah! Why now!"

Our thoughts overlap and our heartbeats pierce our spirits

A song continues softly without hesitation.

Our shadows blended together from the ends of the distant sky,

The memories were written within necessity and whim…

The whirl of time passed by, 

Even if I were to decay, 

I'd still believe in your voice.

"Got it!" Machi yelped as he pulled out a bright red PDA from under a nearby pile of books, and immediately pushed a button on it, making the music stop and making the smaller professor sigh in relief. "Damn it, who's sending a message on the…"

Machi then realized that Price was looking at her, a large question mark popping over his head. "…"

"W-What are you looking at me like that for?" Machi asked with a little red appearing on her face.

"… With the way you acting," Price admitted as clear as day. "I didn't expect you to have a ringtone like that."

"S-So what?" Machi hissed crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm free to have any ringtone that I want! B-Besides, that ringtone's only for mass messaging, so you should've gotten a m-message too. Why didn't your PDA go off?"

Simply raising his arm up, Price revealed his red PDA with a darkened screen, "I… I kinda h-have a preference to n-not have p-people call me w-when I'm w-working."

"Well, aren't you just so smart," Machi growled, lifting up her PDA. "Just check your damn messages so we can see what this message is about."

Price nodded as he quickly turned the power to the small handheld device on, and waited as the screen came to life, displaying the Academy's logo (which was essentially just a blue D, and a red A that overlapped each other). A few moments later, Price was going through the applications until he came to the e-mail section.

It didn't take long for Price to find the mass message, it was practically the only one on there thus far.

With a simple push of a button the message opened up and merely said…

"Attention all students and faculty,

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the usual opening speech delivered by the Headmaster will be canceled. However, opening ceremonies will still continue.

All students and faculty are required to attend the first night banquet which will be held earlier. 5 p.m. is when the dinner is set to begin, and all students are required to be dressed in their uniforms and show up at the Main Building's Banquet Hall on time. Professors will be taking attendance with their PDAs, so be sure to bring your PDA as well.

Obelisk Blue Professor and Headmaster of the Obelisk Blue Male Dorm,

Cruger Hund

"… Professor Hund's name is Cruger?" Price questioned with a slightly dulled look on his face.

"There's a bigger problem here than the old dog's name," Machi growled with a slap of her forehead. "With this, then there's a change in plans, I knew this would happen when that Nanbu bastard didn't bother to answer his phone when some of the faculty tried calling him from the boat."

"N-Nanbu bastard?" Price questioned, another few question marks appearing over his head. "Wait… Are you referring to…"

"No time to talk about this," Machi sighed loudly as she stood up from her seat. "We gotta make sure that the students know that this event is going on, I'll get the girls and you get the guys."

"Uh, s-sure," Price muttered as he stood up from his seat.

**TTTTTT**

_Time: 12:13 a.m._

On the other side of the island from where the Osiris Red dorm sat, there was another building that could be considered the complete opposite of what the Red Dorm was. While the Red Dorm was at best a slightly run down apartment complex, this building would be compared with that of a castle with blue and white paint on it.

This was the Obelisk Blue dorm.

A building that was made for the elites of Duel Academia, filled with some of the finest duelists (and one certain Ra Yellow thought that he had been wronged out of being amongst them), furniture and facilities around. To point one thing out, this was actually the male's dorm, which was another difference between the two dorms. Where the Red Dorm's male and female sides shared the same building, the blue dorm had separate buildings which were separated by a lake that was in the midst of the island.

But, let's keep our attention towards the guy's dorm.

In one of the rooms in on the third floor of the dorm, Mustang sighed loudly as he jumped onto the blue couch in the lavish room he was in. His scarf and overcoat were thrown askew on the ground behind his couch, showing off his sleeveless shirt and his slightly rugged chin. "It's been an interesting summer vacation to say the least. And this year's going to be even more interesting."

Throwing his head back, Mustang looked up towards the ceiling and sighed loudly. There were so many things that he had to do, so many people he had to meet, and so many other things to deal with.

But for right now, all Mustang wanted to do was to sleep the rest of the day away – Even if he missed the opening night's dinner.

And slowly, he was closing his eyes, prepared to fall into the blissful sleep…

At least until the sound of a knocking door caught the attention of the young man which made him groan loudly.

"Mustang! Are you in there?"

"… No," Mustang moaned loudly. "Go away."

"… Mustang, that was terrible attempt."

"I know," Mustang sighed loudly. "But, I don't care. Go away."

"Either you open the door Mustang," The voice called out from the hallway. "Or else I'll bust this door down. You know I can do this, so you better hurry up!"

Mustang sighed loudly, he knew for a fact that the person who was out there would make due on his threats, especially when Mustang was involved. So, with a loud sigh, Mustang pushed himself from his couch and made his way to the door, "Yeah, yeah… Whatever."

Quickly unlocking the door and opening it, Mustang raised an eyebrow as he looked out into the blue hallway. "Oh? I thought someone was out here. Hmm, I don't see anyone though."

"You son-va-bitch," a voice growled, eliciting a loud snicker from Mustang. "I'm standing right in front of you!"

Looking down, Mustang smirked at the sight of a nasty glare being shot at him that was slightly blocked by several messy strands of white hair. Mustang laughed loudly as he crossed his arms over his chest, "Not my fault that I gained a few inches over the summer… And it looks like you lost a few…"

"Say another word and I'll make you lose a few teeth."

Mustang snickered slightly as he stepped to the side, holding his arm up, "You know that I'm just kidding around. Come in."

"Humph," the short young man grumbled as he walked past Mustang and into the room, "Whatever."

"Something wrong?" Mustang questioned, with the door slammed shut behind him. "You seem like you're in a worse mood than usual."

The short young man who entered Mustang's room sighed loudly, slumping his shoulders slightly. The student who entered Mustang's room was almost the opposite from the tall dark haired student – The student was short and had slightly short white hair that seemed to have some strands of black hair under the messy white strands. Although he wasn't as muscular at Mustang, the student certainly had a good build that was covered with a black overcoat that had a blue trim to it.

The young man in question was short, barely even able to reach Mustang's chest in height, and he was slim, almost to the point of having his blue trimmed black overcoat sliding off his body (even the tails of the overcoat seemed to brush up against the floor, tearing them up slightly) and had black cargo pants (although, on anyone else they'd probably be shorts).

There were a lot of odd things about this young man, even more so than the hair or his height, rather was the fact that he was wearing black gloves on his hands that seemed to have some weird symbols on them. The young man sighed again as he stood up straight and rubbed the back of his head. "It's nothing major, just some stuff back home that went south."

"Yes, I heard a few things about that," Mustang answered back, leaning up against one of the walls in his room. "Like how your parents were against having your little sister coming here?"

"Frankly, I was all for that decision," The short young man replied, spinning on his heel to look at Mustang. "With unsavory characters like you running about, who knows what could've happened this semester."

"That was a low blow, even for someone like you," Mustang mumbled.

"The bigger issue was trying to convince the old folks to let me come back," the short young man continued, either not hearing Mustang's comment or he ignored it completely. "But, when push came to shove, I managed to talk them into it… Albeit, they're not happy I'm here."

"No surprise there," Mustang laughed. "After all the crap you had to deal with and the state you left, I'm surprised that you're not in a mental hospital's padded room. Then again, it's that exact same quality that keeps you going, doesn't it?"

"Yes, I suppose," The short young man answered. "In any case, how was the boat ride back to this wreck of an academy?"

"Oh, I can't complain," Mustang answered with his arms crossed. "Ya see, a few things of interest managed to catch my eyes when I was back on the mainland yesterday and when I was on the high sea yesterday. Quite a few things actually caught my attention to tell the truth.

"Especially something that could possibly help out our cause for this year."

"Oh?" The short young man questioned raising an eyebrow. "And this has to deal with that little item of interest you're trying to set up this year, right?"

"How right you are," Mustang chuckled. "I think I've finally found the key that we need, as well as finding us a few more valuable parts to add to this little 'interest' of mine. Ya never know what sort of gems are going to appear on the first day…

"Right, Cain?"

**TTTTTTTTT**

_Time: 4:55 p.m._

With the sun beginning its descent towards the ocean's horizon, most of the students were gathered into the main building's large cafeteria, several students dressed in red, yellow and blue were all seated at the long tables. The smell of delicious food lofted through the air as students chatted amongst each other.

And Price, well, he was seated up near the front, where the rest of the professors were set to dine that evening. However, there were several empty seats at the long table, heck besides Price himself, only Machi and Hund were at the table – Machi was reading a book while Hund was seated with his arms crossed and an annoyed look on his face.

'_Shouldn't there be at least four other people here?'_ Price thought as he looked at the four emptied seats that were only a few inches away from him. And he was right, for the most part, there should've been at least two Ra Yellow professors and one other blue dressed professor alongside Hund.

And then there was the headmaster himself, but from what Price had heard, the headmaster showing up wasn't going to happen.

"Uh…" Price muttered as he leaned over to Machi. "Is this a normal occurrence?"

"Are you talking about the empty seats?" Machi questioned, not bothering to look away from her book. "Yeah, I wouldn't worry about it. There were a couple of complications with the girls' dorms for the Blue and Yellow dorms, so, both of the professors there are dealing with those problems right now. More than likely they got Hund and Kimchi to cover their attendance taking."

"Oh, but, Kimchi…" Price wasn't sure if that was the guy's name or not. "Uh, he's not here… I think."

"I saw him earlier," Machi responded. "Knowing him, he's probably just chumming it up with some of the students or setting up something that'll add a touch of spice to this dinner. And I mean that figuratively and literally."

"Huh?" Price mumbled to himself.

"You'll see," Machi said, holding her book up closer to her face.

Price just sat there, blinking a few times at the information that his co-worker stated. And just as he was about to ask for more information, the lights in the dining hall began to dim down, silencing the students.

"EVERYBODY LISTEN!"

A single light lit up in the middle of the dinning hall, revealing tall and muscular man, but seemed to be rather unrefined due to his appearance. This man had cropped up, wild blonde hair that was held up with fiery bandana that covered his forehead as well. His face had a dark blonde, light beard that raced around his face. He seemed to wear a black style martial artist gi with an apron that had a flame design on it that had several rips and tears into it.

The man spun around to reveal that in his free hand was a small microphone that he held up to his face, "Good evening duelists of all the dorms! Both new and old, I am Kudo Kimchi, and I want to be the first to officially welcome you all to this school!

"You are the few, the proud, and the strongest duelists to make it here! Now, normally, we'd get the principle out here to give you all a speech, which would probably put you all to sleep within the first five minutes."

'_No respect for the higher ups,'_ Hund thought to himself. '_Then again, Nanbu isn't really doing the most respectable thing by shirking his duties… Son-va-bitch.'_

"So, we've decided to kick things up a notch this year," Kudo continued, throwing his fist into the air allowing two holographic screens to appear over his head. "And what better way to kick off this semester than with a duel! Tonight! Two of you are going to break the dueling ice and light a fire in everyone's heart!

"Consider this an appetizer for this year before we serve you all a heaping helping of the main course! We hope to inspire a lot of fiery spirits in you all so that you give everything you do this year a hundred and twenty-five percent!

"So! Sorry to keep you all waiting! This is where the real show begins! We will now select two random duelists from amongst us, so, let's see who will set the bar for this semester!"

The two holographic screens began to flash quickly showing off several faces and shades of red, blue and yellow at very fast speeds. But soon, the pictures began to flash slower and slower until they were just ticking by.

And then, both screens stopped.

The screen on the right showed a male student's annoyed looking face that was topped with white, messy hair with a blue border around him. While the screen on the left had another student with dark skin with wild brown hair cascading from his black beanie that had a skull design on it, and around this rough student was a yellow border.

"Ohohohoho!" Kudo laughed loudly into the microphone as he threw his hand towards the crowds of students. "And we're starting with a bang! Our two selected duelists are one of the second year duelists – So in the blue corner, we have the tiny titan, all the way from Obelisk Blue – Cain Sonryu! Come on down!"

"DAMN IT! WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING TINY!"

"And, I'm proud to introduce the duelist in the yellow corner," Kudo continued. "From the Yellow Dorm, a freshman student who's making his debut this year, fresh from the prep school – Tengoku Gomi!

"Both of you get down here and get your duel disks and decks ready!"

There were a few whispers amongst the duelists, each of them concerned with the duelists that were selected. Obviously, both of the duelists selected for the opening duel had some sort of following…

"Uh, P-Professor Hund?" Price chuckled nervously as he turned towards the blue dressed professor. "Is this for real?"

"… Unfortunately, it is," Hund sighed with his head lowered.

"Ha! Looks like the old dog finally got on a leash," Machi laughed as she pulled away from the book. "Who would've thought that Kudo would've been the one to put that leash on ya!"

"I would advise against taunting me, Professor Machi," Hund snarled loudly. "And this was the only option we could use at the moment. With the headmaster disappearing at the last minute, we had to do something that could welcome the students. And frankly, a speech would've worked, but I didn't have enough time to write up something appropriate.

"And thus here we are."

A few moments passed, but neither duelist had appeared where Kudo was standing. A large bead of sweat rolled down the side of the Ra Yellow Professor's head, '_What the hell?'_

With the mic held up to his face, Kudo narrowed his eyes and blared into the microphone, "Cain Sonryu! Tengoku Gomi! GET UP HERE! YOU WILL NOT BLOW THIS CHANCE TO INSTILL INSPIRATION IN THESE YOUNG DUELISTS!"

"Hey, hey, hey, no need to yell," a suave voice chuckled next to Kudo, garnering everyone's eyes to see that it was the yellow student – Tengoku Gomi, walking up to Kudo with a smirk on his face.

Tengoku was a sight to behold, not only did he have the wild mane of wild brown hair topped with a skull-marked beanie, but he was dressed in a peculiar manner. Covering his slim body was a pair of gunmetal gray pants that clung to his legs and he was dressed in a Ra Yellow blazer that was zipped and buttoned all the way up to his neck. The odd thing as that this uniform of his looked like it was already stained with ink, or chocolate, or some other black substance since there were some random stains covering the yellow fabric.

In fact, if Kudo didn't know any better, it looked like some of the yellow fabric was getting another dark splotch on it. "I just had to make a last minute change to the old stack of cards here."

"Ah yes, good!" Kudo laughed loudly into the microphone. "That's what I like to see in one of my students! A sense of preparation and an interesting sense of style! Now, all we need is the shorty to get his scrawny butt out here, and we'll be all set!"

"Damn it! STOP CALLING ME SHORT!"

And just like that, the white haired young man who was visiting with Mustang ran up to the other side of Kudo, his eyes burning holes into Kudo's head as he lifted up his duel disk. "If wanted me to duel this guy, you could've asked ahead of time!"

"Now where's the fun in that?" Kudo laughed back at Cain as he held his hand up into the air. "Duelists! Take your positions!"

"Hold on a damn minute!" Cain snarled loudly. "I didn't agree to this duel and…"

"What's the matter sempai?" Tengoku questioned with a devilish smirk on his face. "Afraid that the new kid's gonna beat ya down?"

"What was that?" Cain growled, standing up straight.

"So Zetta slow," Tengoku sighed loudly with a shake of his head. "I could easily have made tens of thousands of short jokes against ya in the time it took you to realize that I insulted ya. I can think of a decillion better ways to spend my time than by wasting my time against some loser in blue."

"Humph, crack all the jokes you like," Cain snarled as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a compact duel disk and slapped it against his left arm. "I've proven my skills, and if you're going to keep mouthing off to me like that, I think I may just have to knock that smug mouth right off your face."

"Finally we're getting somewhere," Tengoku replied as he activated his duel disk. "I've wanted to try my hand against a senior classman for a while, but all I've had to deal with are prep-school levels. I wonder, will you fare any better?"

"Only one way to find out, ya walking ink stain," Cain answered as he lifted his duel disk covered arm into the air, activating the device as he brought it down and slipped his deck into the machine.

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Tengoku laughed loudly as he wagged a finger at both Cain and Kudo. "I'd suggest that both of you back up a few feet, ya never know how explosive a duel can get." (TLP: 8000)

"That's the smartest thing that's come out of your mouth so far," Cain retorted as he walked backwards a few feet. (CLP: 8000)

"And here you have it folks!" Kudo laughed loudly as he jumped back towards the faculty table. "We've got our two duelists! They've got their sparks! And now we all get this duel! Let's add a dash of spice to these two and give them a round of sound!"

Surprisingly, the response was instantaneous! "TENGOKU! TENGOKU!" several of the younger students roared out.

"Seems you've got a following," Cain stated as he slid off the top five cards from his deck.

"What can I say?" Tengoku replied with a smirk on his face. "Back at the prep-school I had a following. I may not have been the top dog there, but I still managed to be quite popular."

"Fascinating," Cain muttered as a holographic coin appeared between both duelists. "Alright then, Mister Popularity, since you seem to have the crowd on your side, how about you make the call? Heads or Tails?"

The coin flew through the air, spinning around to reveal a dragon's head on one side of the coin and a symbol of what appeared to be a dragon's tail on the other. Tengoku smirked as he lifted his hand up into the air, "There's only one option for me, heads up, straight to the heavens and above!"

"… Way to be dramatic," Cain stated as the holographic coin immediately fell to the ground.

However, the coin was pointed heads up, making Tengoku smirk as he drew from the top of his deck again, "A flair for the dramatics is always good! And I'll be sure to put that to good use! My draw!"

Looking at the cards in his hand, Tengoku chuckled to himself as he immediately slapped a card onto his duel disk. "And to start things off, I set a monster in defense mode and set one card."

Both of the face down cards materialized in front of the Ra Yellow freshman, almost acting as a shield against the forces that Cain held up his sleeve. "There's no need to get all serious, at least not at the moment. So, I'll let you take the stage, sempai."

Cain drew the sixth card. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Keep telling yourself that, rookie. All you've done is play a standard move. As for me, I'll do something a little different – I summon Twinbarrel Dragon!"

A loud mechanized roar echoed through the air, allowing a large mechanical raptor-like machine appear on the ground, covered with blue neon armor and had a twin barrel cannon mounted on its head (1700/200). "Now, when this bad boy is summoned, I get to flip two coins. If both are heads, well, I get to destroy one card on your field of my choice."

"Huh, you don't strike me as a guy who depends on luck," Tengoku admitted, eyeing the monster on Cain's field.

"Don't assume," Cain admitted as he snapped his fingers, making two coins appear in front of him. "That's the worst thing a duelist can do on his opponent's first turn. Now, double flip!"

Both coins shot off into the air, spinning through the air for a few seconds before they bounced off of the ground. The coin on the right revealed a heads up, and the coin on the left however had a tails up.

"Looks like luck isn't with ya tonight," Tengoku chuckled as he adjusted his beanie.

"I don't need luck," Cain replied as he threw his hand forward. "Twinbarrel Dragon! Blast his face down monster!"

The large mechanical dragon fired a pair of blasts that crashed into face down monster, making the face down monster card flip up to reveal a large blue furred rat (1450/1400), the rat squeaked loudly before it shattered into millions of pixels.

"Aw crap," Cain muttered to himself as he slapped his left hand to his forehead. "Damn it. That was a Giant Rat, right?"

"Good eye," Tengoku snickered as a card popped out of his dueling deck. "Now then, when Giant Rat's effect now activates, so now I can special summon the first of my… Discount binned family!"

A powerful ring of light appeared in front of Tengoku, unleashing a charming robot that was made out of old junky metal that was colored red, pink and dark brown that had a teapot on the top of her head with a whisk in her hands (300/1500). "Meet Maternal Junk!"

"Another Machine deck?" Cain questioned, raising an eyebrow at the monster in front of him. "Didn't think you as the kind of guy to play that sort of deck."

"It just represents my views," Tengoku answered with a laugh. "After all, the world is garbage."

'_Even though this deck's at half power, it's all I really need in order to gauge the 'competition' around here.'_

"Ya know, you remind me of this one internet fad my sister showed me," Cain admitted as he placed two cards into his duel disk, making them appear behind his large mechanical dragon. "But whatever works, two cards set! And turn end!"

"I see that you didn't insult my monster," Tengoku admitted with a smirk on his face as he drew. "That's an interesting reaction to me summoning this thing."

"I'm experienced," Cain answered. "I know that sometimes the weaker monsters can be the most dangerous."

"With good reason," Tengoku snickered as he reached for his duel disk. "But before I get started with my turn, I'll switch my Maternal Junk to defense mode. After all, there's no way she'd be able to take your dragon toe to toe.

"But I can easily fix that, I summon her counterpart!"

Slapping the card onto his duel disk, Tengoku smirked as a second ring of light appeared in front of him, unleashing another junky robot, this one covered with bulky scrap metal that resembled that of a suit and tie and even had a pair of black rimmed glasses on its gray face (1600/500). "Paternal Junk!"

"Maternal… Paternal…" Cain muttered under his breath. "I'm starting to see a pattern right here."

"No duh," Tengoku snickered as he threw his hand towards his Paternal Junk. "This deck represents my views, in any case, since I have both Maternal and Paternal out, my Paternal Junk gains 500 attack points right off the bat!"

A powerful aura erupted over the fatherly robot, making it throw its arms up into the air (1600/500 + 500/0). "Next, I'll use my Maternal Junk's effect, allowing me to pull a Kid Junk from my deck to my hand!"

Holding his hand up to the deck, Tengoku smirked as he pulled the card from his deck, looking at the card he just added, "Unfortunately, I can't use this card at the moment, after all, I summoned Paternal Junk this turn. But that's alright, I just need my two monsters for the moment!

"Paternal Junk! Attack his Twinbarrel Dragon!"

The large bulky machine ran across the field, spinning about before it slammed its fist right into mechanical dragon's face, shattering the machine into millions of parts that bounced past Cain's body – Which elicited a large roar from the students, all of them excited that a freshman managed to draw the first blood. (CLP: 7600)

"Aw yeah, show who ya love," Tengoku chuckled as he lifted his arms up into the air.

"I wouldn't get too excited," Cain replied as he pushed a button on his duel disk. "I had a feeling you'd destroy my monster, so, I'll play this! Soul Rope!" (CLP: 6600)

Cain grimaced as a long rope of light erupted from his chest and flew into his duel disk, allowing a card to shoot out and into his hand, "With a cost of one thousand life points, I can now special summon any level four monster from my deck, and I choose one of my favorites!"

The rope pulled the card into the air, and almost immediately, a large amount of electricity surged through the card, making all of the remaining scrap metal parts of the Twinbarrel Dragon come together around it. Soon the parts began to meld together and form into a large blue and yellow armored machine that had a spiked orb for legs, and a man shaped torso that was mounted with two futuristic cannons on its shoulders (1800/1200). "X-Head Cannon!"

Tengoku, however, was less than impressed, his eyes slightly dulled over at the sight of the monster. "Really? That's the strategy you're working with? The V to Z cards? Such an old method of dueling."

"I don't see you pulling any ground breaking plays," Cain retorted as he watched his deck shuffle the cards in his duel disk.

"We're just starting this duel," Tengoku replied with a wag of his finger. "There's no need to start off with so much force. In fact, it's not a good idea to do so. Turn end."

Cain silently drew his next card and nodded to himself, "I wouldn't be so sure about that. I summon Z-Metal…"

"Tank?" Tengoku guessed loudly as he sighed loudly. "So predictable."

"I wouldn't get all confident!" Cain announced as a large yellow tank appeared in front of him, this one with a large eye-like symbol in between both of its tank treads (1500/1300). "I now activate Z-Metal Tank's union ability! Equipping to X-Head Cannon!"

Sparks erupted between the two machines, pulling them closer and closer together until the X-Head Cannon mounted itself onto the back of the Z-Metal Tank's main body (1800/1500 + 600/600). "Now then, attack! Destroy Paternal Junk!"

The large dual colored machine aimed both of its cannons towards the larger machine on Tengoku's field. However, just as the cannon-fire was about to crash into the Parental Junk, a large scarecrow made entirely out of junk appeared in front of the larger junk monster. The scarecrow took the entirety of the attack, and immediately shattered the powerful blast.

Tengoku chuckled loudly as a large smirk appeared on his face as the scarecrow fell to the ground, transforming into a face down card, "Sorry, but my Scrap-Iron Scarecrow can negate one attack and then reset itself on the field. So your old school assault is a bust."

'_Well, there goes one plan,'_ Cain thought looking at the three remaining cards in his hand. "I set one card face down and end my turn."

"Humph," Tengoku sighed loudly as he pulled another card from the top of his deck. "Is that seriously all you've got? I wonder, if you represent the Obelisk Blue Dorm, then becoming Kaiser will be nothing more than child's play! I summon Kid Junk!"

A third ring popped out onto the field, immediately unleashing a smaller, toy-like robot that was made out of green parts with a red jacket and cap covering its body and head (300/500). "And since I have Kid Junk out, Paternal Junk gains an additional thousand attack points!"

With the smaller robot jumping about, the Paternal Junk seemed to chuckle at the sight of the kid robot (2100/500 + 1000/0). "So, now the father of this deck is even stronger! But I'm not done, not by a long shot! Now, my family of junk monsters is complete! Now the finisher! Paternal Junk! Attack his X-Head Cannon!"

The large machine stomped over the field, pulling its fist back and immediately threw a powerful punch towards the X-Head Cannon, however, the Z-Metal Tank detached itself from the blue machine (2400/1500 – 600/600) and took the attack for the Cannon. (CLP: 5900)

The shattered remains of the tank bounced around Cain's body, making the white haired teen narrow his eyes at Tengoku, "Too bad my tank takes the hit instead."

Still, that last attack elicited a loud sea of roars from the crowds of students, most of them from the freshmen and yellow dorm. "TEN-GO-KU! TEN-GO-KU! TEN-GO-KU!"

"Look at who's the crowd favorite," Tengoku chuckled running a finger over the cards in his hand.

"What an upstart," Cain muttered under his breath. "You're just the new guy around here, the underdog, someone who…"

"Yap, yap, yap, like your old tactics could get anyone's attention," Tengoku chuckled as he slipped a card into his duel disk, making it appear behind his three monsters. "In any case, I I'll end my turn with one more set card.

"So show me what you can do, I'd hate to know that this is the true strength of the second years… Especially a second year Obelisk Blue duelist."

"Well, I guess this is enough of a handicap then," Cain yawned loudly as he plucked the next card from his deck.

"Huh?" Tengoku questioned with a raised eyebrow. "Handicap?"

"Just live and learn, freshman," Cain replied as he pushed a button on his duel disk. "First off, the trap card, Call of the Haunted! Come on back Z – Metal Tank!"

The junk covered ground erupted, immediately allowing the yellow tank appear back on the field next to the X-Head Cannon (1500/1300). "And next, I'll summon Y-Dragon Head!"

A powerful surge of red electrical energy popped onto the field, forming into the infamous red dragon machine with a disk-like torso with two long mechanical wings (1500/1600). "Now, since you know what my monsters are capable of, I'd hate to disappoint! X-Y-Z! Combine!"

All three of the machines flew through the air, all three of them beginning to combine with the Y-Dragon Head docking atop of the Z-Metal Tank, and finally the X-Head Cannon connected to the top of all of them, sparks of electricity surging from the newly combined machine (2800/2600). "XYZ – Dragon Cannon!"

"And now you use its effect?" Tengoku sighed with a shake of his head. "Way to think outside the box, I approve of your shamelessness."

"While your cooking up your own insults," Cain announced as he fitted a card into his duel disk. "Allow me to show you theory two point O! I play XYZ's effect! And I'll destroy your Paternal Junk!"

Several cannons erupted from the Dragon Cannon's body, all of them glowing brightly with energy. Almost immediately, all of the cannons fired the energy and they crashed into the Paternal Junk, shattering it into millions of pixels. Tengoku grounded his teeth slightly, "Oh, snap. I totally didn't see that coming. You familiar with the concept of sarcasm? Don't worry, it's a new concept."

Cain slapped his forehead with his left hand, and then immediately turned his glare towards Tengoku, "I'm going to start kicking your tail now, I don't know when I'll stop. I play my trap card – Roll Out!"

A powerful flame erupted from the back of the XYZ – Dragon Cannon, immediately forming into a pair of red colored steel wings that had a pair of claws latched onto the shoulders of the X-Head Cannon portion with a loud mechanical screech echoing through the air (2800/2600 + 300/0).

"So, you discarded another Union monster when you used XYZ – Dragon Cannon's effect," Tengoku muttered with a raised eyebrow. "Never really saw this one before though…"

"It's a new one," Cain explained as he lifted his hand up. "Meet the MKII Kujaku Sabers! It gives my machine three hundred extra attack points, and all of them are heading straight towards your Kid Junk!"

The wings on the back of the XYZ – Dragon Cannon's back snapped upwards, creating several flames that encircled over the machine's body, empowering the cannons on the large machine's body.

Tengoku chuckled with a shake of his head, "Seriously? I thought you'd at least use your XYZ – Dragon Cannon's effect again. But your fault! I play my trap card – Scrap-Iron Scarecrow!"

However, Tengoku's scarecrow never flipped up, making the beanie wearing duelist's eyes widen at the sight of this. "W-What the? What's wrong with my duel disk?"

That's when Tengoku's eyes widened when he watched the Kid Junk get enveloped with the powerful red energy blast, making the tiny robot explode in a flurry of sparks that slammed into Tengoku's body, almost completely silencing the cheering duelists in the room. "GARGH!" (TLP: 5200)

Holographic smoke puffed off of Tengoku's body as he slowly stood up, his gaze narrowed down at Cain, "What the hell did you do to my duel disk?"

"Humph," Cain muttered with a shake of his head. "And you called my tactics old. Looks like my cards aren't as predictable as you thought. You see, my Kujaku Sabers grant my XYZ – Dragon Cannon a second ability, meaning when it attacks, you can't chain spell and trap cards to the attack."

Tengoku blinked a few times in confusion when he heard that, but his eyes immediately narrowed when he heard some of the students chanting the name, "SON-RYU! SON-RYU! SON-RYU! SON-RYU!"

With his beanie adjusted, Tengoku smirked wildly, "Heh… Hehehe… WAHAHAHA!"

"Looks like he's snapped," Cain muttered.

"Oh no, you don't wanna think that," Tengoku snickered loudly as he lifted his arms up. "I was just starting to think that this duel academy was a waste of time, but with people like you roaming the halls, this just might be worth my time! So, in order to thank you for shattering my preconceptions about you…

"I'll be going to the next level!"

"In that case," Cain stated as he slipped a card into his duel disk, making the card appear behind his large machine. "Show me what ya got."

"As you wish," Tengoku replied as he lifted off his next card, his eyes looking at the four other cards in his hand. "And here's my move, first, I play the spell card – Mystical Space Typhoon! Now, I'm going to blow away the face down card you just set!"

Cain's eyes widened as a powerful twister slammed into his face down card, making it fly up into the air to reveal a Negate Attack trap card, "Damn it."

"Aw, that would've been so helpful too," Tengoku announced as he threw his arm to the side, making one of his face down cards flip up. "But back to the duel! I activate one of my other trap cards – Limit Reverse! Return my Kid Junk!"

A loud pop of smoke appeared on Tengoku's field, allowing the cute little robot appear on the field, striking a powerful pose (300/500). "Next, we'll be playing the spell card – Machine Duplication!"

Two more pops of smoke appeared on Tengoku's field, unleashing two more Kid Junks onto the field with sparks popping from their bodies (300/500 x2). "Now, you may be wondering why I would bring out these two little guys."

"The thought crossed my mind," Cain answered. "Then again, looking at the field, there are five machines out, you tribute two of them and you can easily get a Perfect Machine King out on the field with fifteen hundred attack points."

"That's an old style," Tengoku replied wagging a card in his hand. "You see, the next monster I'm about to summon is of the newest generation, a machine monster that can be tribute summoned by sacrificing as many machines on the field as I want."

"So you're going to sacrifice all four of your monsters?" Cain questioned, getting into a defensive stance. "Whatever monster needs four monsters can't be good."

"Four?" Tengoku snickered with his mouth curling up. "Oh, no, no, no, no, not four. Five! I can sacrifice Machines on the field, and not just on my side!"

Cain's eyes widened as all four of Tengoku's monsters and his own XYZ – Dragon Cannon transformed into five orbs of light that began to combine into each other, lumping into a large red light covered figure that grew larger and larger with each passing second. "So, give it up for one of the strongest monsters in my deck – the Devil Gun King – DeoWulf!"

The light immediately crystallized over the form, and immediately shattered, revealing a large, red armored man-shaped machine to appear in the place of all the monsters on the field. The machine itself stood over twenty feet tall, almost reaching the ceiling of the dining hall, its large bulky body shadowed over many of the students who gasped at the heavily armed machine. Gatling guns, cannons, two shoulder mounted missile containers, and clawed hands made this red giant even more dangerous than its name suggested (2000/1900).

"And before you go off on a tirade about how weak he is," Tengoku chuckled as the chest armor on DeoWulf's chest began to open up, revealing a large green emerald implanted in it's body, growing brighter and brighter with each second. (2000/1900 + 2500/2500). "For each machine I used in his tribute summoned, my monster gains five hundred extra attack points! And since I used five, he's just as strong as a certain white scaled dragon's ultimate form!"

"And now, to put those attack points to good use."

"Well… This sucks," Cain admitted taking a step back.

"TEN-GO-KU! TEN-GO-KU! TEN-GO-KU!"

"Aw, yes, show me who ya love," Tengoku chuckled as he spun around, aiming to get a look at each and everyone of the students that were cheering his name. "Guess that means I can't disappoint… Get 'im."

The large Devil Gun King looked down at Cain, its green eyes leering down at the short duelist. It was at that moment that Cain had to admit that when compared with this monster, all those short jokes were actually true.

But that was pushed out of his head when several rounds of bullets, missiles, and laser fire crashed into him, making the short Obelisk Blue student skid backwards and almost caused him to tumble over, but he maintained his footing. "SONVA-!" (CLP: 1400)

That last attack made the entire dining hall erupt into flood of cheers for Tengoku and his titan of a monster, making everyone who was cheering for Cain instantly change sides. Unfortunately, that just made Cain throw his hand forward, "Save your breaths everyone! I play my trap card, Shock Draw! Now, for every thousand points of damage I just took, I gain one card from my deck!

"And thanks to that last shot on my life points, that four cards right off the bat!"

Cain plucked off the top four cards, immediately refreshing his hand of cards, however, Tengoku only shook his head with a loud chuckle, "Oh yes that huge attack would be worth about four cards. But you're not the only one who can increase his hand. First, I'll set one card face down, and then I'll activate the spell card – Aura Draw, so now since its that last card in my hand, I can draw two cards from my deck."

Fitting the card into his duel disk, Tengoku swiftly pulled off two cards from his deck and looked at the two cards, "Hmm, not the worst, but I can't use either at the moment. So, I'll just end my turn."

Pulling off another card into his hand, Cain looked over the seven cards he held and sighed loudly, "I had a feeling this would happen. I set a monster in defense mode, and set three cards face down, turn end."

The three face down cards appeared in front of Cain, two vertical cards and one set monster, granting him a semblance of a defense.

Tengoku shook his head, "That was rather fast, was that all you could muster?"

"Unfortunately," Cain sighed as he crossed his arms. "Yes."

"Where'd that fire you had a few moments ago go?" Tengoku questioned as he drew from the top of his deck, his eye brow raised slightly. "Ah well, I suppose there was only a spark there. In that case, I'll just have to snuff out that flame – And who better to help out with this than Robotic Knight!"

Stepping onto the field was a large robotic figure that was covered in armor that made the robot look like a fancy general with a cybernetic rapier in one hand and a gatling gun where the other one would be (1600/1800). "Doesn't fit the theme, but its still a machine. In any case, Robotic Knight! Slay his face down monster!"

The robotic warrior dashed across the ground and stabbed its sword into the face down monster, sending the card flying through the air. However, underneath the card, there was a small white mechanical rabbit that had the words 'Love It' painted on its forehead (800/100).

And at the very moment that the rabbit was revealed, an awkward silence filled the air at the sight of the monster. Cain looked to the side, his face slightly red, while Tengoku just blinked at the monster in front of him. "… What the hell?"

No one knows when it started, or who had started it, but soon the entire dinning hall erupted into laughter, so much so that Cain began to feel even smaller than he was right now.

Even Tengoku had to stifle a snicker in order to continue the attack, "Um… R-Robotic –snirk- Knight! C-Continue the attack!"

The Robotic Knight quickly kicked the rabbit into the air, sending it flying through the air. "Well, that was weird."

"Sure, all of you keep laughing," Cain admitted as he pointed towards the air. "But while the Mecha Bunny isn't the best, or the toughest looking monster about, but its still helpful! Cause first, when its flipped, I can select one card on the field and whoever owns that card loses five hundred life points!

"I'm choosing tall, dark and gruesome – DeoWulf!"

Tengoku's laughter stopped when he realized that several carrot-shaped missiles were flying towards him, and immediately crashed into body. "URK!" (TLP: 4700)

That's when another set monster appeared in front of Cain, "And here's the beauty of monsters with more than one effect. The Mecha Bunny allows me to set another copy of it from my deck when destroy in battle."

That seemed to silence a little bit of the laughter in the room.

Tengoku sighed as he dusted off his splotched uniform, kinda seemed like the gesture was a waste. "Alright, I can admit that I didn't expect that. Not really something that someone like you would run."

"If I had a choice, I wouldn't run it," Cain sighed, slumping his shoulders slightly. "In any case, it's still your turn, you gonna attack with the big guy?"

"Are you kidding?" Tengoku questioned, messing with some of the loose strands on his hair. "I've got the big guy out over here, I'm going to lose the life points regardless, and you'll more than likely summon the other one. I'd rather take you out in one felt swoop.

"So I'll wait next turn."

"Good to hear," Cain replied as he drew the top card from his deck. "Really good to hear actually. You said that my dueling was old fashioned, right? Well, how about I show you a new form of dueling?"

"A new form of dueling?" Tengoku questioned raising an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"How about I show ya?" Cain replied as he slipped a card into his duel disk. "First, I'm playing a trap card, Boosting Resurrection!"

Powerful surge of energy popped onto the field, allowing the first Mecha Bunny to appear on the field (800/100 + 100/100). "Next, I'll flip up my second Mecha Bunny as well! And I'm choosing the big guy again!"

The other face down monster flipped up, immediately showing the second robotic rabbit, firing off several carrot-shaped missiles that crashed into Tengoku's body. "URK!" (TLP: 4200)

As the smoke cleared from Tengoku's body, the young freshman shook his head, "Alright, now that's just annoying. Heh, alright, I think I can see what you're up to, you're trying to bust out a high level monster, aren't ya?"

"Indeed, you're right," Cain replied as he twirled around a card in his hand. "However, it's not going to be the way you think its going to be.

"Come out, Quick Spanite!"

A bright light popped in front of Cain, immediately forming into a small cute robot that had several screws popping out from its body with a wrench-like head that had two cartoonish eyes on it (1000/800).

Tengoku tilted his head slightly, "Okay. You kinda lost me right here."

"Then let me show you what I can really do," Cain announced as he snapped his fingers, making the Quick Spanite leap into the air, popping into three rings. "I tune my Quick Spanite to my two Mecha Bunnies!"

The entire dinning hall went silent as the three rings wrapped around the two rabbits, transforming them into five stars that erupted into a powerful blue pillar of light in front of Cain. Cain's overcoat fluttered from the shear force of the energy tower in front of him, even going so far as to cover him completely in shadows.

Even the professors were surprised at the turn of events, Price had his jaw dropped, "W-What in the? I heard of there being a few new forms of summoning… But, to see one so early in the year…"

Machi was actually scribbling down notes in a notebook she had in her pocket, "Interesting! So, this is that kind of summoning! I would've figured that a professor would've done this first!"

Kudo was laughing loudly, knowing that he had chosen the right duelists for this opening duel, one of them using a new form of summoning to the game.

And Hund, he just watched with his eyes trained on the field.

"_Through the night,_" Can announced as two powerful mechanical arms erupted from the pillar of light._ "A single soldier of justice will strike down those who dare sin in the moonlight! Rise and deliver righteousness, Synchro Summon – Scrap Metal Knight!"_

The rest of the pillar shattered! And unleashed onto the field was a large bulky, blue armored, man-shaped machine that landed on the ground, instantly shaking each and every table in the area. The machine itself was armed with a five-barreled machine cannon on its left arm, a pile-bunker-like pike mounted on its right arm and a set of titanium, ball bearing-launchers rested on its shoulders. And atop of its helmet was a large horn that seemed to glow brightly with energy.

The machine's yellow eyes glowed brightly as it threw its right fist into the air, making a large amount of steam erupt from its joints (2600/2400).

The students' cheers and roars erupted through the dinning hall at the sight of the new monster, however Tengoku, his eyes widened at the sight of the monster, and he stepped back a bit as he barred his teeth at the sight of it.

But, fear wasn't running through his veins.

Rather…

'_This…'_ Tengoku thought to himself as he looked upon the large machine. '_I… I DIDN'T THINK I'D FIND ONE OF THEM SO SOON!'_

"Now, I activate Quick Spanite's effect!" Cain announced as several screws flew through the air and stabbed into DeoWulf's body, making the large machine stagger backwards (4500/4400 – 500/0). "When used for a Synchro Summon, one monster on the field loses five hundred attack points, and I choose the big guy!

"Next I play Double Cyclone! I don't need to deal with your Scrap-Iron Scarecrow again! And I'll be getting rid of my Boosting Resurrection to make sure I don't take the damage during my next turn!

Tengoku grimaced as he watched his trap card disappear, truth-be-told, he forgot that he had the trap card out, while at the same time, Cain's face-up trap card shattered as well.

"Next," Cain announced with a snap of his fingers. "I'll go on the attack!

"But the big guy's not the target for my attack, the Robotic Knight is! Attack with Buster Pile smasher!"

Several energy boosters erupted from the back of the Scrap Metal Knight, propelling the powerful and large machine over the floor and towards the Robotic Knight, the pile bunker erupted with steam and forced the knight to pull its arm back.

Tengoku, now free from his stupor, shook his head and pushed a button on his duel disk, "You may have eliminated my Scrap-Iron Scarecrow, but that doesn't mean I can't stop this new monster of yours! I activate Mirror Force! Now, your monster goes bye-bye!"

A powerful barrier of light erected in between both machines, forcing the Scrap Metal Knight to slam its pile-bunker armed fist into the barrier. A storm of sparks flew from where the two connected, creating a spectacular light show that flew over the other student's heads.

A few moments passed, but neither forces yielded.

"What's going on?" Tengoku questioned.

A loud cracking sound blasted through the air, and that's when Tengoku's eyes turned towards his Mirror Force barrier, and several cracks began to web over the powerful light screen. That's when the pile-bunker pierced through the barrier, shattering it, and allowing the weapon to shatter through Robotic Knight, shattering the monster into millions of scrap parts. (TLP: 3200)

"W-What happened!" Tengoku questioned as the ball-bearing launchers on the Scrap Metal Knight opened up. "M-Mirror Force should've blasted it to kingdom come!"

"Should've, would've, could've, but it can't," Cain replied as he held his hand up. "You see, this bad boy has a few effects, and one of them is that he can't be destroyed by non-targeting card effects! And here's another effect! When my monster inflicts damage to your life points, you take additional damage! Three hundred extra points of damage for each card in your hand and on your field! And you've got three of them – Two in your hand and one on your field!"

Tengoku's eyes widened as several red orbs of energy erupted from the Scrap Metal Knight's shoulders, sending them flying into the Ra Yellow duelist's body, making him growl loudly. "GARGH!" (TLP: 2300)

"An… Interesting move," Tengoku gasped as he brought his hand to his chest. "I… I shouldn't have underestimated you…"

"You're not so bad yourself… Tengoku, right?" Cain questioned with a thoughtful look on his face. "You seem to rely a little bit too much on power though."

"It was a common trend back at the prep-school," Tengoku answered back as he looked at the two cards in his hand. "In any case, do you have anything else to do this turn?"

"Unfortunately, I do not," Cain replied as he looked at the two other face down cards on his field. "I'm pretty much all set for right now. And you've still got the big guy out, so you can easily try to attack my monster and try for a win."

Tengoku pulled off the top card from his deck and looked at the card. "Sorry, but I'm not a fool. Those two face down cards are probably not bluffs, and frankly, I'm not in the mood to make another mistake. So first off, I'll summon A-Team: Trap Disposal Unit in attack mode!"

A small flash of light appeared on the field, forming into four small featureless characters that were all one color (one was blue, another was orange, another red and the final was green) and were dressed in construction equipment (300/400). "Now, should you activate a trap card, I can just tribute these guys and stop it."

"Not bad," Cain admitted with his arms crossed. "And it's a good reference to a classic TV show."

"No duh, not bad," Tengoku chuckled as he threw his hand forward. "DeoWulf! Crash through his Scrap Metal Knight!"

The large demonic machine stomped forward, and immediately began to reach for the Scrap Metal Knight, however a large totem pole that looked to be partially cybernetic appeared directly in front of that attacking monster, sending the Devil Gun King staggering back slightly. Cain smirked as he held his hand up towards the side, "I don't think I'll be letting ya do that! Command Silencer's a quick-play spell, so your A-Team's plan doesn't come together.

"As for my spell, it can negate one attack and then let me draw one card from my deck."

"Not a bad dodge," Tengoku answered as he held up a card from his hand. "But you're not the only one who can defend. I play Swords of Revealing Light!"

Cain's brow twitched slightly as several swords made of light stabbed into the floor around Cain's field, arcing around his Scrap Metal Knight. "Alright, that's fine. Got anything else to play this turn?"

"I think I'm pretty much set for now," Tengoku answered with his head tilted downwards, allowing his beanie and hair to overshadow his eyes. '_I'm pretty sure that I can still pull out of this with a win. I just need to tread lightly… But still, I can't believe that I found this monster – And so soon! Scrap Metal Knight… _

'_Oh, I can almost feel 'him' burning in my deck case! Ooh, I wish I could bring him out to fight against this Knight! But I can't! Not just yet!'_

"Good!" Cain announced as he pulled off the top card from his deck, nodding at the card he just drew. "Then I'll spend this turn wisely, I summon Heavy Mech Support Platform!"

Slapping the card onto his duel disk, the short duelist called for a large loading, spaceship that flew through the air before floating over Cain's field (500/500). "And for an added bonus, this monster's a Union monster, so I can equip him to Scrap Metal Knight!"

Several sparks flew from the two machines, separating the Heavy Mech Support Platform into several large parts that began to latch onto the Scrap Metal Knight, giving the machine an extra pair of cannons and a pair of mechanical wings (2600/2400 + 500/500). "Next up, I'll set one card face down. And since I can't attack, I'll end my turn."

A few of the swords disappeared, allowing the Scrap Metal Knight to move slightly.

Tengoku pulled his next card and looked at the field, '_Alright, he set another card face down. I have my A-Team out, and I can block one of his trap cards, but as he demonstrated last turn, he didn't have just traps set. In that case, I might as well go for broke! Besides, if he's got a certain spell card out, I can easily counter that…'_

"DeoWulf!" Tengoku roared loudly as he threw his hand forward. "Slay his monster!"

This time the missile silos on the large machine's shoulders opened up, immediately unleashed a powerful flurry of missiles that flew through the air.

"Not a chance!" Cain announced as he pushed a button on his duel disk. "I play the quick-play spell – Shrink!"

All of the missiles and DeoWulf himself were completely covered in a bluish aura that seemed to cut the machine's height down to half its original height (4000/4400 – 2000/2200), making it the same size as the Scrap Metal Knight. The Scrap Metal machine opened up the ball bearing launchers on its shoulders.

"Not exactly what I was expecting," Tengoku replied as he turned a card around in his hand. "But I can still use this! I play Limiter Removal! Now, all Machine's on my field gain double attack points!"

Indeed a powerful red aura erupted over DeoWulf, machine roar out as it lifted up its cannons and immediately fired several rounds of holographic bullets and lasers (2000/2200 + 2000/0). At the same time, the A-Team just looked at each other and shrugged (300/400 + 300/0) at each other.

The rounds of laser, bullet and missile fire quickly crashed into the Scrap Metal Knight's body, making the large machine stagger backwards as smoke immediately covered the field, making Cain stagger backwards. (CLP: 500)

"Of course, since your monster was equipped with a union monster," Tengoku answered as the smoke began to dissipate, revealing the Scrap Metal Knight standing strong (2600/2400). "It survives the attack. Too bad I can't say the same for my monsters at the end of my turn."

"Yes, Limiter Removal does have that effect," Cain admitted as he crossed his arms. "A risky move, even by a rookie."

"So true," Tengoku answered as he held up one of the two remaining cards up from his hand. "Hence why I'm playing another spell card – Mystik Wok! So, I'll tribute my Devil Gun King, and I'll gain each and every one of my monster's attack points to my life points."

The large red aura flowed from the DeoWulf's body, making the large machine shatter into a rusty mist that flowed into Tengoku's body. (TLP: 6300)

"And unfortunately, I'll have to end my turn," Tengoku sighed as his A-Team shattered like glass. "So my field is completely bare, save for my swords, but I've got two more turns with them."

"You do realize that if I draw a Mystical Space Typhoon," Cain stated as he pulled off his next card. "Then I can blast ya quite easily."

"Maybe, but I doubt that you drew that," Tengoku replied as Cain looked at the card. "The chances of you drawing something like that is highly unlikely, after all, it's not like you've milled through a large section of your deck."

"And you're right," Cain replied as he turned the card around holding up another card from his hand. "What I drew was Monster Reincarnation, so now I discard one card from my hand and I can immediately pull another monster from my graveyard…

"But it won't stay there for long, I summon out MKII Kujaku Sabers!"

The moment that Cain slapped the monster card onto his duel disk, a powerful flame erupted from the air, unleashing a sleek metallic bird-shaped machine that resembled that of a peacock (900/1100). "And, I'll be outfitting my Scrap Metal Knight with my Union monster!"

The large peacock machine began to compact itself, making its wings fly upwards and connect to the back of Scrap Metal Knight (2600/2400 + 300/0), sending several flames dancing over the field.

"Turn end," Cain announced, taking a look around to see that the students were on the edges of their seats. "Ya know, I think we should finish this duel up, I'm getting kind of hungry and I'm sure everyone else is as well."

"Well then," Tengoku admitted as he pulled off the top card of his deck, giving him only one card in his hand, not really caring that more of his swords were disappearing. "I guess I'll just have to make this next move a big one. I play a second Aurora Draw!"

A large mist appeared over the two duelists, creating a beautiful light show that allowed beanie wearing duelist to pluck two cards from the top of his decks, "Now, like with my first copy of this card, since it was the last card in my hand, I get to draw two cards from my deck."

Turning the cards up to his face, Tengoku looked at the cards – One was green bordered and the other was hot pink bordered, "Hmm… I can see the ending. I play the spell card, Reinforcement of the Army!"

"What the heck?" Cain questioned as a single card popped out of Tengoku's deck. "Why is that in a Machine deck?"

"Now, wasn't it you who said 'don't assume'?" Tengoku retorted as he pulled the card into his hand. "If you recall, I never said that I ran a machine deck, all I said was that this deck represented my views. In any case, I now summon my monster of choice!"

Tengoku slapped the card onto his duel disk, and the ground in front of him shattered to unleash a large, muscular warrior that was covered with purple and black armor with a long, tattered black cloak over its shoulders. The warrior spun around and revealed a large black and red metallic saber (1800/1000). "Junk Blader!"

"I see, and here I thought that whole 'the world is garbage' thing was you trying to be trendy," Cain stated as Tengoku reached into his duel disk's graveyard slot.

"You wish I was," Tengoku announced as he pulled five cards from his graveyard, and five orbs of light flowed around the Junk Blader's body. "Cause now you see, I can activate Junk Blader's effect, allowing me to remove a Junk monster from my graveyard to increase his ATK by 400 points until the end phase. And since this effect isn't limited to once per turn, I can remove the Paternal Junk, Maternal Junk and the three Kid Junks from my graveyard to turn my warrior into a titan!"

All five of the orbs crashed into the Junk Blader's body, making its already muscular frame grow stronger and stronger (1800/1000 + 2000/0). "Now then, I feel like being a risk taker! Junk Blader! Destroy his monster and the rest of his life points!

"Blade Blazer!"

The Junk Blader stabbed its blade into the ground and shot forward, immediately dashed towards the Scrap Metal Knight. The warrior pulled its blade from the ground and aimed to stab the Scrap Metal Knight.

However, three orbs of light crashed into the Knight's body, and threw his hand forward to latch onto the blade, sending a flurry of sparks flying through the air. Tengoku's eyes widened when he watched his empowered monster stopped, "W-What the?"

"Did you forget about my face down card?" Cain questioned as his face down card flipped up. "In that case, let me etch it into your mind! My trap card Synchro Strike! Now for each monster that was used in my Scrap Metal Knight's Synchro summon, he gains five hundred attack points!

"And I had three monsters!"

The Scrap Metal Knight's body began to glow brightly, pulling the buster-pile armed fist back (2900/2400 + 1500/0), and with a powerful punch, the Metal Knight pierced through the Junk Blader's chest, shattering him into millions of pixels that flew into Tengoku's body, "GARGH!" (TLP: 5700)

"And don't forget about my Scrap Knight's effect!" Cain roared loudly as the ball bearing launchers opened up once more. "Since he still made battle damage, you take his effect damage! So, since there are only two cards in your possession, that another six hundred points!"

The ball bearings slammed into Tengoku's body, and the young man knelt to the ground. "Gack!" (TLP: 5100)

With his hand lifted up, Tengoku narrowed his eyes at Cain, "Oh, that's impressive, I didn't expect that at all. I set one card face down and end my turn!"

As Tengoku picked himself up and slipped the last card into his duel disk, making the card appear in front of him. '_Just one turn, that's all I need.'_

Cain slowly drew from his deck, the power bonus from the Synchro Strike disappeared from the Scrap Metal Knight's power (2900/2400). With a quick gaze at the card, Cain slipped the card into his duel disk, "Well Tengoku, this has been an interesting match, but all good things must come to an end. I play Giant Trunade!"

Tengoku's eyes widened a powerful storm swept the field, blowing away not only his swords and his face down card, but also the Kujaku Sabers equipped to the Scrap Metal Knight (2600/2400). The cards reappeared back into the duelists' hands, however Cain picked up the card and immediately slapped it back onto his duel disk, allowing the large peacock machine appear back on the field and reequip to the Scrap Metal Knight (2900/2400).

"And now," Cain stated as he threw his hand forward. "Scrap Metal Knight! Deathbound Dash!"

The large winged machine propelled itself forward, burning across the field and pulled its pile bunker back before it slammed the weapon into Tengoku's body, sending him skidding backwards. "This… This isn't over, not by a long shot!" (TLP: 2200)

"Don't assume," Cain chuckled as he turned around, his back to Tengoku, not bothering to watch as the ball bearing cannons shot into the freshman duelist. (TLP: 1600)

"Isn't that what you're doing?" Tengoku coughed as he stood up straight.

Cain instead slipped a card into his duel disk allowing a spell card to appear in front of his back, showing off two creatures – One of pure ice and one of pure magma pulling away from each other. "No, what I'm doing is called knowing. You played a good match Tengoku, but my Quick-Play spell – Combination Attack, will end this right now.

"Cause my monsters separate, and the monster that was equipped with the Union monster can attack again this turn!"

The wings flew from the Scrap Metal Knight (2600/2400), forming into the red peacock machine monster (900/1100), both of which sparked with electricity. Cain held his hand up and gave a thumbs up, "And now, end this."

Tengoku's eyes widened as he watched the large Scrap Metal Knight charged towards him again and immediately slammed its other fist into his chest, sending the young duelist to the ground. "RUK!" (TLP: 0)

And with that final attack, all of the holograms disappeared, making most of the students who were cheering Tengoku stop slightly as the rest of the students who were on Cain's side erupted loudly, which eventually caused the rest of the duelists catch the cheering bug, filling the room with roars for the amazing duel.

Tengoku began to push himself off of the ground, only to realize that Cain held his left hand towards the freshman duelist, "Good duel there, freshman."

"Not so bad yourself, sempai," Tengoku chuckled as he jumped to his feet, not bothering to use Cain's hand to help him get to his feet. "But, don't think for a second that I'm going to let you get away for that defeat…"

'_Especially since you've got that Scrap Metal Knight! I had a feeling that I'd find one of them on this island, but I never thought it'd be so soon! I wonder if the other one is here as well!'_

"What sportsmanship!" Kudo announced loudly, making both Cain and Tengoku jump slightly. "And that's how we do things here at duel academia! With new dueling strategies and new powers, I just can't wait for classes to begin!"

Price chuckled slightly as he rubbed the back of his head, '_M-Maybe I should take a page from Kudo's book. He doesn't seem to be nervous at all! And that was still an amazing duel!'_

A few minutes later, the students were finally enjoying their opening night meal, and the chatter was echoing through out the room. Amongst the older students in the Obelisk Blue dorm, Cain sat farther away from most of the students, simply enjoying his meager meal and glass of milk. However he wasn't alone…

"That was a decent duel," Tenri admitted before she took a sip from her soda.

"Why are you here?" Cain questioned with a dull look in his eyes. "Shouldn't you be sitting with the rest of the first year reds?"

"Yeesh, what crawled up your ass and died?" Tenri huffed with her cheeks puffed out slightly. "I didn't expect you to be a part of the prejudice of dorms."

"I'm not," Cain replied calmly. "I just don't like you."

"Aw! Mustang! The shorty's being mean!" Tenri cried fake tears to the scarf-wearing duelist who was about to eat some of his meal – Caught just as he was about to place the food in his mouth.

"Who are you calling an ameba?" Cain snarled loudly.

Mustang sighed as he lowered his head and fork, "Cain, stop acting like Edward Elric, and I'll have you know that I invited Tenri to join us."

"Ha!" Tenri stated with her tongue sticking out at Cain.

"And Tenri, stop provoking him," Mustang groaned as he turned his serious glare towards the red headed girl. "Seriously, Cain, I thought you got over that short complex of yours."

"I have for the most part!" Cain snarled back snapping his glass of milk up. "But some things stay with ya for almost forever. Ugh…"

Mustang shook his head, "Whatever, in any case… Cain, what's your take on that Tengoku Gomi character?"

Cain was drinking the glass of milk like a thirsty man caught in the desert, and sighed loudly when he finished the drink, "He was holding back."

"Huh?" Tenri questioned. "He was? But all those moves…"

"I could tell he was holding back," Cain answered slamming his glass on the table, making all the plates shake wildly. "I had my suspicions through out the duel, but that last move of his – Junk Blader. It was a warrior monster, this would lead me to believe that he has more cards that he had in his deck.

"Besides… There was something else that went on with that duel. I noticed it when I played my Scrap Metal Knight."

Mustang raised an eyebrow, "Cain… Are you saying…?"

"Don't get your scarf in a twist," Cain answered back, stabbing his fork into some of the food on his plate. "It was only a feeling. We'll have to scan the crowds a little bit while longer till I can be sure about this."

"So… That creepy guy isn't going to join our group?" Tenri questioned with a sigh of relief.

Meanwhile, in another part of the banquet hall…

"ACHOOO!" Tengoku sneezed loudly, having used his sleeve to block his mouth. "Damn it. I hope I don't have a summer cold."

"Well, looking at your uniform, maybe you should've stayed away from playing with trash earlier."

"This world is full of trash, Eiji-kun," Tengoku scoffed back with his head turned away from the bug duelist who sat across from him. "Its hard not to get stained by the trash in this world. In any case, let's get back to what we were talking about."

"Ah yes," Eiji smirked as he waved his spoon towards Tengoku. "Looks like you're not so superior after all. You lost to an upperclassmen."

"Yeah, but it's a given that I'd lose," Tengoku defended back. "The guy was using his real deck, not some test deck. So, what's your excuse?"

"You bastard," Eiji growled.

"But don't worry, my compadre," Tengoku chortled, his finger waved a few times at his classmate. "Because of this duel, I have managed to find out a way to get back your former glory."

"What?" Eiji questioned.

TBC

**TTTTTTT**

**Card Stats**

**Quick Spanite / Earth / LV. 3 / ATK: 1000 / DEF: 800 / Machine/Tuner:** If this card is used for a Synchro Summon and sent to the Graveyard, 1 face-up monster your opponent controls loses 500 ATK.

**Description:** a small cute robot that had several screws popping out from its body with a wrench-like head that had two cartoonish eyes on it

**Junk Blader / Earth / LV. 4 / ATK: 1800 / DEF: 1000 / Warrior/Effect:** You can remove from play 1 'Junk' Monster from your graveyard to have this card gain 400 ATK until the End Phase.

**Description:** A purple armored warrior with a long flowing black cape with a red and black metallic sword in his hands.

_These two cards are Japanese cards that have yet to be released to America._

**Aurora Draw / Normal Spell / Effect:** Activate only if you have no other cards in your hand. Draw 2 cards.

**Image:** A beautiful aurora in the night sky

_This card was used by Aporia in Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's_

**Paternal Junk / Earth / LV. 4 / ATK: 1600 / DEF: 500 / Machine/Effect:** If you have a face-up 'Maternal Junk' on your field, this card gains 500 ATK. If you have a face-up 'Kid Junk' on your field, this card gains 1000 ATK.

**Description:** a large junky robot, this one covered with bulky scrap metal that resembled that of a suit and tie and even had a pair of black rimmed glasses on its gray face

**Maternal Junk / Earth / LV. 3 / ATK: 300 / DEF: 1500 / Machine/Effect:** Once per turn, you control a face-up 'Paternal Junk', you can add 1 'Kid Junk' from your deck or graveyard to your hand.

**Description:** a charming robot that was made out of old junky metal that was colored red, pink and dark brown that had a teapot on the top of her head with a whisk in her hands

**Kid Junk / Earth / LV. 1 / ATK: 300 / DEF: 500 / Machine:** _Some day I'll just be like my father!_

**Description: **A green childish robot dressed in a red jacket and cap with a pair of roller blades

_The preceding three cards were used in the Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's anime._

**Boosting Resurrection / Continuous Trap / Effect:** Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower monster in your Graveyard and equip this card to it. The equipped monster has its attack and defense increased by 100 points and its level upgraded by 1. When this card is removed from the field, destroy the equipped monster. During each of your Standby Phases, the controller of this card receives 1000 points of damage.

**Image:** A powerful form of energy rising up from the ground.

_This card was used by Jack Atlus in the Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's anime._

**Command Silencer / Quick-Play Spell / Effect:** Activate only when your opponent declares an attack. Negate the attack and draw 1 card.

**Image: **A large futuristic totem pole with speakers built in the wings

_This card was used by Kaiba Seto in the original Yu-Gi-Oh! Anime._

**MKII Kujaku Sabers / Fire / LV. 3 / ATK: 900 / DEF: 1100 / Machine/Union:** Once per turn, during your Main Phase, if you control this monster on the field you can equip it to one Machine-Type monster as an Equip Spell card, OR change it back to a monster in face-up Attack position. When equipped to a monster by this card's effect, that monster gains 300 ATK. When the equipped monster attacks, your opponent cannot chain spells or trap cards. (A monster can only be equipped with 1 Union Monster at a time. If the equipped monster would be destroyed, this card is destroyed instead.)

**Description:** A large red mechanical peacock with fiery power boosters on its body.

**Devil Gun King – DeoWulf / Dark / LV. 8 / ATK: 2000 / DEF: 1900 / Machine/Effect:** You can Tribute any number of Machine-Type monsters on the field for the tribute summon of this card. For each Machine-Type monster that was used in this card's tribute, you may increase this card's ATK and DEF by 500 points. This card is unaffected by your opponent's non-targeting card effects.

**Description:**

**The Scrap Metal Knight / Water / LV. 8 / ATK: 2600 / DEF: 2400 / Machine/Synchro/Effect:** [1 Tuner + 2 or more Machine-Type non-Tuners] This card cannot be destroyed by non-targeting card effects. When this card inflicts damage to your opponent's life points, inflict 300 points of damage for each card on your opponent's field and in your opponent's hand. When this card attacks a defense position monster with a lower DEF than this monster's ATK, inflict the difference to your opponent's life points.

**Description: **A bulky, blue armored, man-shaped machine armed with a five-barreled machine cannon on its left arm, a pile-bunker-like pike mounted on its right arm and a set of titanium, ball bearing-launchers rested on its shoulders.

**TTTTTTTTTT**

_**Next time…**_

**The first day… *gulp***

**Alright… Everyone please calm down!**

**There's no difference between us!**

**AAAH!**

**You lousy red!**

**Superior? YOU!**

**Gah! You… You're just…**

**Is there really a problem?**

**If you want a fight! I'll give it to ya!**

**Why do I keep screwing up?**

**This can't end well**

**I'm a professor! I need to do this!**

_**I can only see your soul…**_

_**And it burns brighter than the moon behind you!**_

_**Draw 4**_

_**First Day Troubles **_


	4. Draw 4: First Day Troubles

_**Alright, it's my first day. **_

_**My first day as a professor! There are many things a professor has to be – A model for his students, a strong and caring person, and someone who can adapt to situations on a moment's notice!**_

… _**Unfortunately, that doesn't describe me at all. **_

_**Ugh, I'm nervous. And not just about me screwing up a few facts and numbers in front of everyone, it's what kind of professor I'll be when I'm not in the classroom. Kudo's lively and loud, Hund is a strict professor, but he does actually care a lot for the students… I hope. And Machi… Well, I can't really gauge what kind of professor she is without seeing what she can do, but she seems to be a stickler of the rules…**_

_**-shrugs-**_

_**I don't know if I'm cut out for this, but damn it, I… I'll try my best! A-After all, what's the worst that can happen?**_

_***KER-ASSSSH!***_

… _**Heaven, help me…**_

**TTTTTT**

_**Draw 4**_

_**First Day Troubles **_

**TTTTTTT**

_Time: 6:13 a.m._

It was a quiet and dark morning for the Duel Academia, the sun not even rising over the ocean's horizon yet. That didn't seem to stop the alarm clock from going off this morning in the large blue decorated room.

"Ugh, I miss sleeping in."

Sitting up in the blue comforter covered bed, Mustang yawned loudly as he begun to rub the sleep out of his eyes. "First day of class, and I wake up to see blue, blue and red."

It took a moment for Mustang's observation to finally sink into his half-conscious mind, but when it did, Mustang's trailed the red to find its source. And when he found the source of red, his face had its own tint of red to it now. "Most guys would kill to wake up with a situation like this."

Some how, some way, at some time during the night, there was an intruder in Mustang's room and was apparently still there to boot. For curled right next to Mustang on top of the comforter was a young familiar red haired girl who was dressed in the Osiris Red girl's uniform (Although, the vest was draped over her small body as a makeshift blanket).

Apparently the girl was a sound sleeper for she continued to sleep through the alarm.

"Tenri," Mustang sighed as he shook his head a few times. "I was kind of hoping that she'd break out of this habit of breaking into my room."

Jumping from his bed, Mustang pulled on his black muscle shirt and matching pajama pants. "Everything seems to be in order, so I won't have to worry about that. Still though, I'll have some trouble if anyone sees her coming out of my room."

"Don't worry, I don't mind being late to my first class to sneak out."

Mustang spun his head around to see Tenri sitting up on the bed, wrapping the comforter around her body while a devilish smirk appeared on her face. "Morning, Mustang."

"Alright, how long have you been in here?" Mustang asked heading towards one of the dressers in the room.

"Oh, about an hour or two," Tenri answered with the smile growing slightly warmer. "I was just snoozing right next to you."

"I swear, sometimes you take too much after that catty shopkeeper," Mustang muttered, as he begun to dig through the dressers for his clothes. "Now, any reason you decided to sneak in here, other than to get us both expelled?"

"Is it so wrong that I wanted to steal your heart all for myself?" Tenri cooed as Mustang continued with his morning rituals. "But also, you remember those duelists you had your eye on?"

"You're going to have to be specific," Mustang replied as he lumped his selected clothes into a small bundle. "It happens to be my job to keep an eye on a lot of duelists – the job comes with the title."

"Alrighty," Tenri chuckled. "I'm talking about the same students who fall under the same category that got you to keep an eye on me."

Mustang stopped in his tracks and turned his head towards Tenri, "Is that a fact now?"

**TTTTTT**

_Time: 8:08 a.m._

The first day of classes.

It could either be considered heaven or hell, depending on who you were. Even at Duel Academy that fact remained the same as well, and as the students sat in the various classrooms, they each had their own reactions to the first day.

Some were preparing themselves.

Others were cursing out the sunlight.

And some, well some of them were just snoozing away while the professors were preparing to set up for their classes.

But our story of the day doesn't start there, rather, it started at the Red Dormitory, with only six and a half minutes before classes were set to begin.

"GARGH! WHY DIDN'T MY ALARM GO OFF!"

Dashing out from his room in the Osiris Red dorm, Price almost flew from the door, spinning around to slam his hand into the door to close it, several papers flying from his brief case and his clothes a complete mess as he tried to adjust his pants and coat at the same time. "I… I gotta fix that thing!"

As he struggled to lock his door and catch his papers, Price forgot one very important detail. He was on the second floor, and when he reached out for the paper, he realized at the last second that he was hanging over the side of the support bar. "Huh?

"AHHHHHHH!"

A loud boom sound echoed through the air as several papers floated down onto Price's fallen form, his eyes spinning about behind his glasses, "Ugh… Ow…"

A few red students were walking by when Price fell down from the second floor, taking a few moments to watch the spectacle that occurred just before them. It was an interesting sight to say the least.

"Clean up on aisle three!"

'_That joke doesn't even work in this situation,'_ Price thought as he slowly began to pick himself up, and began to gather up his papers. However, as he lifted up one of his papers, Price took note of his watch. "GACK! I-I'M STILL GONNA BE LATE!"

Gathering up as many papers as he could and trying to make himself at least look presentable, Price began to dash towards the academy as fast as his legs could take him – A long winding tail of papers falling from his running form.

Meanwhile, a few minutes before class was about to start in the classroom that Price was supposed to teach in, the students were starting to get a little restless, the room enveloped with almost mindless chatter amongst the uniform adorned students.

The room was styled to resemble that of a college classroom with desks that went up to the wall and had a single set of stairs that lead up to the back of the room and allowed students to get to the desks. At the top of the stairs was a large door that still had students walking into the room, looking for where they would sit.

Not like it was hard to find a clique for them to join, the students were practically separated only by their uniform colors, the reds sat closest to the front of the class, yellows in the middle and blues were the farthest away from the front, seated at the top seats. A good portion of the seats were pretty much filled up and whatever seats remained disappeared slowly.

A slight sigh escaped from a familiar blue haired Ra Yellow duelist as he slumped forward onto his desk, "Well this is just perfect, my first class ever at Duel Academia and its with that rookie of a professor."

"Oh, Eiji-kun," Tengoku laughed loudly. "You certainly have a flair for looking on the brighter side of things."

"The concept of sarcasm, don't sweat it, it's new," Eiji grumbled under his breath. That's when he relooked at Tengoku, Eiji noticed that Tengoku's uniform jacket had more dark splotches splashed on it, and the splotches from the other night seemed almost pitch black now. It was a wonder how quickly Tengoku could get this uniformed so dirtied in such a short amount of time. "Tengoku, I think you should really clean that damn thing."

"Why?" Tengoku questioned, taking a sniff of his sleeve. "Smells just like mom's good old home cooking."

Eiji slammed his face back into the desk, '_And I'm taking advice from this guy for how to become a champ.'_

With a shrug of his shoulders, Tengoku looked down at the empty desk at the front of the room. The new professor only had a few minutes left to get to the classroom, and since things were looking up, Tegoku smirked to himself. '_So many interesting players in this little game of ours, first Eiji-kun loses to the new professor who doesn't even use his own deck, and when he does, Bogard loses even though he sups up his deck._

'_Then, there's that shorty of an Obelisk Blue with the Scrap Metal Knight card at his disposal. There's something more to him, I just know it!'_

While Tengoku was in the middle of his inner monologue, a familiar red headed, red uniformed girl walked into the classroom. Tenri sighed loudly as she adjusted the backpack on her shoulder, "Ooh, I knew that I had to wait a little bit to get back to the dorm, but Mustang could've at least lent me his shower. I had to mad dash back to the red dorm and quickly shower…"

Tenri took a moment to try to find an open seat, which as stated earlier, wasn't an easy task. But, luck seemed to be on her side as there was an open seat right next to the entrance of the room in the back. So, without really seeing much of a reason not to take advantage of the situation, Tenri immediately slid into the seat and placed her backpack on the desk. '_I guess this will do for right now. Hey, maybe if I'm lucky, that new professor will just make this a quick class and I can get out of class…'_

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

With her train of thoughts derailed, Tenri snapped back to reality to see that a few of the Obelisk Blue students had crowded around where she was seated. There were five in total, with two of them being girls with their eyes dead set on Tenri's form while the three guys sneered at her. Tenri tilted her head slightly, "Um… Sitting?"

"Don't be a smart ass," One of the girls scoffed, and immediately slammed her hand onto the desk that Tenri was seated at. "Can you see where you belong?"

It took a moment for Tenri to realize what the group was getting at. She sighed loudly as she rubbed the back of her head, "This already? Please, can't you get past the old clichéd duel academia prejudice? I just got here and there are no other open seats down near the front of the class."

"Not our problem," One of the Obelisk Blue males retorted. "We worked our tails off to get to the top of the food chain, and frankly, it's like getting dirt thrown in our faces."

That's when the same Obelisk Blue that just spoke snatched his hand around Tenri's arm, and pulled her from the seat, "Hey! What the hell are you trying to do?"

"Just shut up," One of the other blue students snarled, none of them realized however that a large shadow appeared behind the small pre-class event.

_Time: 8:14 a.m._

Meanwhile, out in the hallway, Price struggled to stay on top of his feet, his face dripped with sweat and his clothes clung to his thin frame, "N-Note to self… S-Start early m-morning exercises again. Man was… Not meant to r-r-run… S-Six miles in s-seven minutes."

Taking a moment to gather himself, Price took several deep breaths before he began to open the door with a fragile smile on his face. '_Be brave Price! T-They're only kids… Kids who are here to learn! Kids who have hearts of gold in their chests. Just show them respect and they in turn should show you their respect._

'_Well… Here goes…'_

With his eyes closed and a smile forcibly plastered on his face, Price slowly strode into the classroom, "Good morning, Class! I apologize for being late, but I am here now so we should…"

Price would've continued with his apology and introduction, if it wasn't for the fact that when he opened his eyes, he realized that two male Obelisk Blue students flew through the air right towards him. "… Meep?"

BAM! WHAMP!

"AAAHH!"

Once again, papers flew through the air as both blue students slammed into Price, which in turn sent them all to the floor – Hard.

Most of the students were in awe of what had happened, but when it sunk in, the entire room was enveloped in laughter at the sight of the two blue students being tossed onto the new professor as if they were nothing more than rag dolls. Price all the while was a little less than pleased with the situation, his attempts to get the two young men off of him were not the most successful, "W-What the? C-Can someone h-help?"

A few minutes later…

Price now stood in front of the class with a nervous look on his face, not even five minutes into his first day of class and students had already used Price as target practice. Price was actually used to being target practice, but that was usually by paper footballs, spitwads, and various other forms of disrespect that would be shot at him.

But he never expected to have students thrown at him!

No one would!

"A-Alright," Price coughed, his gaze set at the two still knocked out Obelisk Blue students who were dragged to one of the nearby corners as if they were discarded trash. "Um, c-could anyone tell me what h-happened here? I know I'm new and I expected some sort of hazing from some students.

"But I didn't expect that. And s-since it's not a conventional h-hazing technique, I think that… Well, I'll be honest, I don't know what to think. Can someone just tell me what happened?"

There were some murmurs that flew through the classroom's air, but no one seemed to be willing to answer the rookie professor's question. A few moments later, Price was about to give up when all of a sudden.

"No problem, professor!" Tengoku announced, which garnered the attentions of everyone in the room. The stained uniformed student coughed slightly as he stood up with a smirk on his face. "There was a little trouble going on at the top of the stairs in this room a few minutes ago…"

"What the hell are you doing?" Eiji hissed under his breath.

But Tengoku continued, regardless of Eiji's question. "I don't know what the cause was, but two Osiris Red students were apparently at the center of it all. A few blues didn't like what they were doing, and the bigger of the two reds decided to intervene and then you started to come into the room.

"Next thing I know, you're getting attacked by a pair of flying Obelisk Blues, and thus, class is postponed."

'_That was a rather unique description,'_ Price thought to himself, his hand placed at his chin. '_Red students… And since I'm a part of the red faculty that means that I need to deal with this problem. Well, I certainly have my work cut out for me, its only the first day and I've already got a situation on my hands._

'_But, the first thing I need to do is figure out who the red students are.'_

"Can anyone tell me who was involved?" Price questioned, instantly he turned his attention towards the two knocked out Blue students. "Um… But before that, c-can I get a few people to take these two to the nurse's office?"

"Once again," Tengoku chuckled as he stepped out from behind his seat. "No problems teach, me and Eiji here will be more than welcomed to do it."

"We will?" Eiji questioned, his brow raised up.

"Yes we will," Tengoku repeated himself as he quickly grabbed Eiji by the arm and lifted him up from the desk. "Now, hurry up, Eiji-kun!"

Within a few moments, both Eiji and Tengoku were dragging the two knocked out Obelisk Blue students out of the classroom, with Price blinking a few times at the two yellows dragging them out. "A-Alright…"

Out in the hallways, both Eiji and Tengoku carelessly dragged the two Obelisk Blues by their collars, of course, Tengoku was smirking a little bit to himself while he was getting a taste of the glare that Eiji was shooting at him. "And what the hell was that about?"

"You know that if you glare like that," Tengoku chuckled with a wag of his finger. "Your face will stick like that."

"Just answer the damn question," Eiji hissed, dropping the Obelisk Blue student in the process. "Just what the hell are you trying to do?"

"Tell me something Eiji-kun," Tengoku answered back as he too dropped his Obelisk Blue student. "Do you want to have the typical school experience while we're here? Most people who come to Duel Academia come to get away from the dull high school experience that most of the students had to deal with before the summer of this year.

"Duel Academia, the school that takes the oh-so enthralling game of duel monsters and incorporates it with the regular high school curriculum, the idea itself isn't a bad prospect. But, it's so dull.

"Then again, most of this life is dull and boring. I myself am aiming to make this world a little bit more… Stylish."

"That still doesn't explain why you told the professor that," Eiji pointed out.

"Those two red students…" Tengoku chuckled with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. "I'm getting the same feeling as I did with that shorty I faced off against last night. They've perked my curiosity."

"You just love hearing your own damn voice, don't you?" Eiji growled loudly. "If you had an interest in them, then…"

"Why?" Tengoku interrupted as he walked down the hallway. "If everything came to us easily, then that would make things even duller. And frankly, an interest can't tell me anything useful. Now, how about we ditch these two losers here and go chill somewhere?"

"That's the smartest thing I've heard you say all day," Eiji admitted as he followed Tengoku through the hall.

**TTTTTT**

_Time: 11:45 a.m._

It was a long morning for Price.

In addition to his mostly freshman class – Intro into history, Price had two other classes that had older students in it, both of them history based. But a lot of students weren't paying attention, they didn't ask questions when Price explained what the course was about, and most of them left before Price had officially called the class over with.

And with his current bruises bothering him, Price didn't want to have to deal with those problems.

Thankfully, since it was the first day, it was a duel academia tradition to make the classes last for half a day.

Thus, brings us to the newest professor looking over some papers he had while in the Osiris Red Dorm's cafeteria, a bottle of iced tea at his right on the table. '_Let's see… Looking at the student list, I had about sixty-five students in my first class. Of those sixty-five, twenty were Osiris Red._

'_And looking at the attendance that I took, only about two Red Students weren't in class today. One Tenri Kujo, and one Adrian York. Tenri's a freshman, but Adrian's a second year student. Odd… Second year students are usually promoted to Ra Yellow, so maybe held back? I dunno…_

'_I could inform Hund of this trouble, but, I don't know all the facts of this case… S-So, I should try to handle this myself. A-After all, there are p-plenty of views on the situation…'_

Holding up his PDA, Price began to bring up a few files concerning the two duelists, all the while looking at the papers. '_No photos in their personal files, that's rather odd. In any case, let's take a look at their grades.'_

"What ya looking at newbie?" Machi asked, making Price nearly jump out of his shoes, however, all of his papers flew from his hands and into the air.

"GACK!" Price yelped as he watched the papers float about through the air. Desperately, the young professor made several grabs at the papers, only to have the most important one – The attendance sheet – caught by Machi herself.

The short professor and dorm head looked at the sheet before she lowered it and began to look it over. "Oh, an attendance sheet? That's what you're stressing over?"

"Uh, y-yes?" Price muttered out loud before he reached for the paper.

However, Machi just turned to the side and looked at the attendance sheet. "Look, I know you're nervous about this being your first day, but all of us teachers always have at least one student who skips class."

"Uh, r-r-right," Price stammered, still trying to get his hands on the attendance sheet before that the smaller professor had.

"Heck," Machi continued as she twisted to the right, right out of Price's reach. "Even Hund's got a couple of hooky players under his wing, and he's Obelisk Blue's headmaster. Even that mutt's not perfect and so, I don't expect that you'll get everyone appearing in your class, sure, you can try, but you'll have a few bad eggs."

"I… I see," Price chuckled sheepishly.

That's when Machi looked a little bit more carefully at the list, her eyebrows perking up at the two names that were unmarked. "… York and Kujo? Those two?"

"I take it you know them?" Price questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"They're red students," Machi answered with a large grin on her face. "Of course I'd know them! From last year!"

"Last year?" Price questioned. "But isn't Miss Kujo a first year?"

"She was a visiting student last semester," Machi replied with her arms crossed. "A little program we have with regular schools so we can allow regular high school students to see if they want to join duel academia. Something that the old fart of a headmaster suggested that actually was of use, it certainly got us a lot of new students.

"It's like a mentoring program and she got paired with a second year Obelisk Blue student I think… Doesn't really matter. I'm not really surprised about her though, she's bright, but her mind's not really set for the books. York's a different matter though…"

"A second year red, right?" Price stated with his glasses pushed up. "What's up with that? York held back for…"

"Nah, it was York's choice to stay in red," Machi answered as she tossed the paper back to Price. "In any case, I'm not surprised that York wouldn't appear in class. Not that best of a student either, but I've never seen a brighter heart in a student."

"I… I see…" Price muttered.

"In any case, I'd love to continue chatting," Machi sighed as she spun on her heel to turn away from Price. "But, I've got some planning for tomorrow's class to deal with. So, good luck with your work in trying to figure out why you were pummeled by a pair of blue students." 

Price's eyes widened when he heard that and he blushed slightly when he heard that, word apparently travels fast on this large island. And with a loud sigh, Price slowly pushed himself away from the desk, "I suppose I should t-try to find these two s-s-students…"

"You should probably check their room numbers," Machi yelled out just as she walked out of the small cafeteria. "That'd be a good start."

Price sighed loudly as he shook his head.

**TTTTTTT**

_Time: 12:01 p.m._

It didn't take long for Price to find out the room numbers for both of the students, they were both in the red dorm, so it didn't take long to find the room numbers under the files in his PDA.

So, here he was.

Standing in front of the door to Miss Kujo's room, Price cleared his throat and began to rap on the door a few times, "Miss Kujo? Are you there? It's Rowen P-Price, I wish to d-discuss what had happened during this morning's first class."

A few moments passed, and there was still no answer at the door, so Price brought his hand up to the door and knocked on it once more. "Miss Kujo? Are you in?"

Still no answer.

Price sighed loudly. "I guess I'll have to try again later."

And with that, Price began to walk away, heading for the corner towards York's room. As soon as he rounded the corner, the door to Tenri's door opened up, allowing the red haired student to pop her head out. "Yeesh, I didn't think I'd have him on my tail. Maybe I should hide out at Mustang's room…"

A few moments later, Price was now standing in front of the door to Adrian York's dorm room, a little nervous about this. '_Hopefully I'll have a better chance with Adrian York.'_

Price knocked on the door a few times.

A few moments, Price raised an eyebrow when he heard a few weird sounds coming from within the room. However, Price just lifted his hand up again and knocked on the door, "Adrian York?"

"Be there in a second!"

Price blinked a few times, at least time he got a response from the student he was looking for. That was a good sign, right?

Wrong. WRONG.

The door to the room opened up, and immediately Price's eyes widened at the sight that stood in the middle of the door frame. For standing in the door frame was a tall, muscular, young woman (who almost rivaled Price's height) with bronze skin and long, messy blonde hair.

But it wasn't that the fact that she was almost as tall as Price (or for the fact that she had bigger muscle than him) that bothered the Red Professor. It was for the fact that all that the muscular girl was only wearing three towels on her body, one around her waist, one draped over her shoulders (which covered her rather sizable chest) and the last one was covering her hair. The girl's tanned, but cute face just stared at Price as he spun around, his hand flown up to his face to cover his eyes. "… Can I help ya?"

"P-PUT SOME C-C-C-C-C-CLOTHES ON FIRST!" Price yelped out, keeping his eyes closed with his hands still covering them.

Oh right… I forgot that I can't come to the door only in towels. Give me a minute, will ya?"

The door closed quickly, and immediately Priced turned his head back, blinking a few times. '_Alright, I'll admit I didn't expect that reaction…'_

A few moments later, the door began to open, this time allowing the girl to step out, this time dressed in a white vest that had red trim to it (Price noted that, since students who wore uniforms like that have spent more than a year in the same dormitory), black tank top and baggy black pants, she also had her long blonde hair pulled back into a tail that she had draped over her shoulder. The girl rubbed the back of her head with a blush on her face, "Sorry about that, I need to get used to the rules around here again. Summer break makes you forgetful…"

"Uh, right," Price muttered to himself as he rubbed the back of his head. "In… In any case, I'm looking for Adrian York and…"

The girl tilted her head to the side and raised an eyebrow at the red professor, "I prefer to be called York."

Price blinked a few times, and his jaw dropped slightly, "Y-You're Adrian York?"

"Yes," York answered with her arms crossed over her chest. "It's a very androgynous name, I realize. But you didn't come here to discuss my name, now did you? Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Uh, r-r-right," Price mumbled as he rubbed the back of his head. "I… I mean, my name is Rowen P-Price, you're new headmaster as well as your first class professor. And, I believe that you w-were supposed to be in m-my class this morning, but you didn't show up."

York leaned against the side of the door, her gaze aimed at Price for the most part, "Yeah, what about it? A lot of students skip their first class."

"Y-Yeah, but I…" Price gulped as he rubbed the back of his head. "B-But, some students saw you in m-my class before I got in there… And…"

"I just happened to forget something," York answered quickly, rolling her eyes. "I needed it for my next class, and since it was the first day, I figured I'd get someone else to take notes for me, and I'd pick up on the class tomorrow. I quickly left the room to get it so yeah."

Price took a deep breath and removed his glasses to leer at York, "Miss York, I'd appreciate if you'd give me a little more credit. I may be a new teacher, but I wasn't born yesterday."

"Oh, ho?" York questioned with a smirk on her face. "Where'd that come from? From what I heard from the freshmen you often tripped up on your words."

"We're not talking about me," Price answered as he tucked the glasses into his front pocket. "We're discussing the incident that occurred earlier this morning."

"Hmm?" York muttered.

"Don't feign ignorance," Price requested as he held his hand up. "According to a Ra Yellow student, you and a Miss Tenri Kujo were causing a stir with a handful of Obelisk Blues, two of which got a little closer to me than I would've preferred. Now, I came here to listen in on what you have to say so I could get your side of the story before I spoke to the Obelisk Blue students.

"And I would appreciate that you wouldn't hide the truth from me. Making a bad impression with a professor is never a good idea."

"Indeed," York snickered slightly. "But what exactly are you getting at."

"To be honest, I was a little puzzled how two Obelisk Blue Male students could be 'thrown' into me," Price answered with his arms crossed. "I had thought that the two were pushed down the steps and tripped into me. But now that I've gotten a good look at you, it's not too hard to imagine that someone of your stature could easily throw those blues."

York shook her head slightly, allowing her wild hair billow slightly. "So, what's your point?"

"I just want to hear why you did it," Price answered with his eyes closed. "You see, I've heard the details from a Ra Yellow student who was in the room, but I'd rather hear about it from someone who was actually involved in the incident. I tried to find Miss Kujo, but she wasn't in her room.

"Although, I was expecting a guy when I heard your name, especially considering this is the guys' dorm."

"There was an excess of girls in Osiris Red last semester," York explained with a smile on her face. "And there was an empty room on the guys' side of the dorm. So, I volunteered to take this room. My roommate from last year got promoted to Ra Yellow last semester, so I was left with a private room."

"I see," Price answered back. "But back to the main topic, I want to hear why you felt the need to throw a pair of students at me."

York sighed loudly as she shook her head. "I wasn't trying to do anything to hurt you sir, I promise you that. The thing is, before you came into the class, those two 'Elites' were hassling another red student – A girl with red hair that was in a pair of fiery tails. And they weren't alone, they had three other students with them.

"I learned last year that depending on what color you wear, you get treated differently, and I wasn't going to do anything about it. At least not until…"

**TTTT – Back in the Classroom That Morning - TTTT**

"_What the hell do you think you're doing?" _

_With her train of thoughts derailed, Tenri snapped back to reality to see that a few of the Obelisk Blue students had crowded around where she was seated. There were five in total, with two of them being girls with their eyes dead set on Tenri's form while the three guys sneered at her. Tenri tilted her head slightly, "Um… Sitting?"_

"_Don't be a smart ass," One of the girls scoffed, and immediately slammed her hand onto the desk that Tenri was seated at. "Can you see where you belong?"_

_It took a moment for Tenri to realize what the group was getting at. She sighed loudly as she rubbed the back of her head, "This already? Please, can't you get past the old clichéd duel academia prejudice? I just got here and there are no other open seats down near the front of the class."_

"_Not our problem," One of the Obelisk Blue males retorted. "We worked our tails off to get to the top of the food chain, and frankly, it's like getting dirt thrown in our faces."_

_That's when the same Obelisk Blue that just spoke snatched his hand around Tenri's arm, and pulled her from the seat, "Hey! What the hell are you trying to do?"_

"_Just shut up," One of the other blue students snarled, none of them realized however that a large shadow appeared behind the small pre-class event._

"_Get your hands off of her," The shadow growled, immediately revealing that it was none other than York herself. "You only get one warning."_

"_Heh, who the hell's gonna make…" one of the male Obelisk Blues scoffed as he turned around to face who ever had spoken… And when he noticed that he was looking directly into a pair of muscular breasts, he looked up to see York's face glaring down at him, making him smaller than he was compared to the large, muscular girl. "… Me?"_

"_Great, more roaches appear," one of the Obelisk Blue girls sighed as she waved a hand. "Mind your own business, you brute!"_

"_You realize I'm a girl, right?" York snarled crossing her arms over her chest. _

"_Please, with a body like that, it's a crime to call yourself a girl," The same Obelisk Blue girl retorted. _

_Tenri raised an eyebrow at the girl who had apparently come to her rescue in this matter, if anything, she would've preferred Mustang's assistance, but she'd take what she could get. At least with this large, muscular girl now confronting the group of blues, Tenri could at least slip away before the teacher arrived._

"_Listen, you overgrown Red," another of the Obelisk Blue Boys growled as he released Tenri and began to walk in front of York and immediately pushed her in the shoulder. "We don't need any more trash in this class, so why don't you just…" _

_The Obelisk Blue student never got to finish, for right at that moment, York had her hands on his collar and one of the other Obelisk Blue boy's. And without a word, York threw the two over the desks and towards the front of the room…_

… _Just as Price was walking into the room, "Good morning, Class! I apologize for being late, but I am here now so we should…"_

_Price would've continued with his apology and introduction, if it wasn't for the fact that when he opened his eyes, he realized that two male Obelisk Blue students flew through the air right towards him. "… Meep?"_

_BAM! WHAMP!_

"_AAAHH!" _

_Once again, papers flew through the air as both blue students slammed into Price, which in turn sent them all to the floor – Hard. _

_It was during this commotion that both Tenri and York had slipped out of the classroom, using the laughter to cover their escape. _

**TTTTTTTT**

"… And that's what happened," York finished explaining with her head lowered slightly. "I had no intention of harming you or the two blues, but after they laid their hands on both me and that smaller red girl, I couldn't just stand by and take it."

Price didn't say a word, he just stood there with his eyes closed as he plunged deep into his thoughts. And finally, when Price opened his eyes, he spoke slowly and calmly, "I see."

"So, what are you going do?" York questioned, raising an eyebrow at Professor Price.

"According to the rules," Price stated with his sharp eyes aimed directly at York. "Violence is not tolerated at the school, and the fact that a teacher was involved, that makes things worse. Though it may have been unintentional, you still harmed two of your fellow students and a professor."

"And?" York continued.

"This academy has a zero-tolerance policy," Price answered as he reached into his pocket. "So, I should speak to the principal about having you expelled. However…"

"However?" York asked.

"Seeing as how it was for the sake of one of your peers," Price stated as he lifted up a deck of cards towards York. "I'll give you a chance to get out of this. We'll duel, and depending on the outcome, I might overlook this little incident."

"Me duel against a professor?" York muttered out loud.

"Is there a problem?" Price questioned back.

The response that Price got back however wasn't what he expected, York began to laugh loudly. "Ha! Not a problem at all! In fact, if I had to duel someone to stay here at the academy, I'd prefer it to be a professor!"

"That's what I like to hear," Price chuckled as he pocketed his cards. "So, how about you grab your duel disk and cards, so we'll duke it out?"

"Sounds good for me, Professor!" York laughed as she pushed herself from the door frame and into her room. "And if it's okay with you, I know the perfect place for us to duel."

Unbeknownst to Price and York, there was a third person who was listening in on the whole conversation. '_So, Price's dueling again? Looks like I'll have to cancel going to Mustang's room for a while.'_

**TTTTTTT**

_Time: 12:22 p.m._

The Osiris Red Dorm was situated near a cliff, safely distanced away from it in order to provide students with safety. However, at the cliff there was a small natural walkway leading to a lowered rocky edge that had the waves from the ocean crash alongside it.

It was here that both Price and York stood across from each other, only having a few between them as both of them shuffled each other's deck. Price looked around as he continued to shuffle the cards, "Huh, I didn't expect to see a place like this near the Red Dorm."

"It's almost like the Osiris Red's unofficial duel arena," York explained as she held up Price's deck to him. "If you couldn't tell, the red dorm doesn't get all the funds for all the perks that the blue and yellow dorms get. I sometimes wonder if the electricity will hold out around here."

"Hmm," Price stated as he handed York her deck back. "I see… In any case, we have other matters to deal with."

"Yeah," York chuckled as she jumped backwards, instantly landing a few feet back on the rocks. "We've got a duel to fight out!"

"I couldn't say it any better," Price said with a smirk on his face as he walked backwards to put some distance between him and York.

Back up on the cliff, Tenri watched as the two duelists snapped their decks into their duel disks, activating the two devices. She had a blanket underneath her and was laying on her slim stomach to look over the cliff, '_I'd rather hang out with Mustang this afternoon rather than dealing with this duel. But then again, I don't really have much of a choice in this matter._

'_If I let this chance escape, chances are Mustang won't ever let me live it down!'_

"Duel!"

Both Price and York drew the top five cards from their decks and fanned them in their hands. York smirked as she looked at the cards in her hand, "So, Prof, who goes first?" (YLP: 8000)

"You can choose," Price answered with a warm smirk on his face. "After all, I was the one who suggested this duel. I'd prefer to allow you to make the call." (PLP: 8000)

"Then I'll start with my turn!" York announced as she pulled off the top card from her deck, giving her six cards to her name. Quickly reaching into her hand, York pulled a single card from her cards and slapped it onto her duel disk. "And I'll start it with a roar, not a whisper! I summon Berserk Gorilla in attack mode!" 

A loud roar echoed through the air, a large gorilla leapt off the top of the cliff and slammed into the small rocky coast in front of York. With a loud snarl, the Gorilla slammed its fists into its chest a few times (2000/1000). "And I'll set one card face down to end my turn!"

"A Berserk Gorilla?" Price questioned as he drew from the top of his deck. "That's certainly a strong start there York, and I'll say this, I don't really have a monster in my hand that can defeat it.

"But that doesn't mean I can't try – I summon Spade Bureido in attack mode!"

A large aura erupted in front of Price, forming what appeared to be a large playing card spade that sparked with energy. The energy began to cackle until it shattered like glass, and immediately a tall sleek armored figure stood in front of Price. This monster was covered head to toe in silver armor that had sharp shoulder pads and helmet that had several green spade marks on it. And strapped to the armored monster's back was a large black broad sword that had a large spade design carved into it.

The machine crossed its arms and nodded towards York (1700/1200).

"Huh, never seen something like that before," York admitted raising an eyebrow as her smirk grew a little bit. "What can that thing do?"

"At the moment, its effect is moot," Price answered with a shrug of his shoulders. "And in all honesty, I don't know what his effect even means."

"Heh, not something you wanna hear from a professor at this school," York pointed out with her arms crossed.

"It's better than lying," Price countered as he held up two cards from his hand that he immediately slid into his duel disk. "And in any case, I end my turn."

York smirked as she drew from the top of her deck, '_Setting me up aren't you, Prof? And you know that my Berserk Gorilla has to attack each turn. Well, it'd be rude to not walk into that trap after all that hard work you put into it.'_

With a quick nod of the card she just drew, York threw her hand up into the air, "Berserk Gorilla! Attack his Bureido!"

The large gorilla roared loudly before it leapt through the air, its large arms thrown over is head before the raging beast slammed both of its fists into the Spade Bureido, shattering the machine into millions of parts that bounced around Price's body. (PLP: 7700)

'_Huh?'_ York thought to herself as she watched Price fit the Spade Bureido's card into his duel disk's graveyard slot. '_He didn't activate either of his face down cards… Are they just bluffs?'_

"Everything okay over there?" Price questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Heh, nothing wrong over here," York snickered as she slapped a card onto her duel disk. "I set one monster face down and end my turn."

"Not yet you don't," Price announced as he snapped his fingers, making one of the face down cards flip up, forming up into a large red jar that had a goofy looking face etched onto it while having many jewels spilling out from the top of the jar. "When you end your turn, I play my Jar of Greed, so I can draw another card from my deck."

Price quickly snapped one card from his deck, and then immediately pulled off another, giving him a fresh hand of five cards. "Now then, I think I'll start this turn with a spell card – Future Fusion!"

As Price's spell card appeared in front of him, a powerful vortex erupted over his body, making the red professor smirk as he reached for his deck, "Now, time for a lesson, since I played this spell, I can send any fusion material monsters listed on a fusion monster in my extra deck. And I've got just the three for a machine."

Price held up his three cards, revealing three copies of the same monster, however, he quickly slipped them into his graveyard slot. "And in two turns, I can summon the fusion monster that has those monsters listed as fusion components."

York said nothing as she watched Price's turn unfurl.

"And now for the summon this turn," Price announced as he slapped a card onto his duel disk. "I summon Arc Mech – Sensou in attack mode!"

A powerful blue aura erupted in front of Price, immediately forming into the very same blue armored machine that had appeared on the ship only couple days ago. The machine slammed its fists together and surged with energy (2300/500) before it threw several punches and kicks through the air.

York blinked a few times at the sight of the weird machine that now stood in front of Price, '_Another weird monster I haven't seen before… Man, am I behind on the times or something?'_

"Next, I'll outfit my Arc Mech with this!" Price announced as he slipped a card into his duel disk, making a large red number '7' appear on Sensou's chest (2300/500 + 700/0). "Seven Completed! Now he gains seven hundred attack points!

"All of them aimed for your Berserk Gorilla!"

The powerful blue machine began to dash over the rocky field, its arms pulled back and prepared to slam both of its fists into the Berserk Gorilla, if it wasn't for the fact that a powerful bolt of lightning crashed into the large ape, which sent the beast into a frenzy that sent Sensou back a few feet. Price lifted his duel disk up slightly, "What the?"

"Sorry Prof, but I'd rather make the most out of all my cards!" York announced as her Berserk Gorilla shattered like glass, allowing the muscular girl to pull off the top two cards from her deck. "So, thanks to my Beast Burial Ritual trap card, I can destroy my Berserk Gorilla to draw two cards from my deck. I may not be able use these two cards this turn, but hey, it's your turn, so its not really a problem."

"Indeed," Price admitted before he threw his hand forward. "But that doesn't mean that I can't take out your face down monster!"

With a mighty leap, Sensou immediately fell to the ground and slammed his metallic foot into the face down monster, shattering the card to reveal a large puffy furred hamster that seemed to jitter about before it disappeared (1100/1800).

"Thanks Prof," York snickered as she pulled a card from her deck and held it up to her eyes. "What you just flipped up was my Super-Nimble Mega Hamster!"

"… That's rather a mouthful," Price muttered under his breath.

York placed the card she had gotten from her deck onto her duel disk, and a face down monster appeared in front of her. "Yeah, but it's a useful ability, which allows me to set a level three or lower beast-type monster from my deck to my field."

"I have to say, Beasts aren't something I normally see with girls," Price admitted looking at the cards in his hand and waved his hand slightly. "Then again, from what I can see and hear, you certainly break the mold of the term 'girl'."

"I don't really care about gender," York answered as she slowly picked off the top card from her deck. "I wanted to be strong, so I got muscles. I wanted to be a duelist, so the cards came to me and here I am at duel academy. I just follow what I want to do."

"Rather a lax view of life," Price admitted with a rub of his chin. "Still, at least you have a mind of your own to follow."

"What can I say?" York questioned with a shrug of her shoulders. "I don't like following the crowd. Now then back to the duel! I flip up my face down monster – Sea Koala!"

The face down monster immediately disappeared, forming into a strange small creature that had the characteristics of both an otter and a koala, albeit it looked as though the koala half was more dominant. To make things more comical, the small creature had a small clam shell that it was currently trying to break on its stomach (100/1600).

Price just stared at the monster for a few seconds before he shifted his gaze up towards York, who had a large smile on her face. "Quite an assortment of monsters you have."

"You ain't seen nuthin' yet Prof!" York announced as she slapped another card onto her duel disk. "I summon Tree Otter in attack mode!"

From the side of the cliff, another weird hybrid beast landed in front of York, this one looking like the exact opposite of the Sea Koala – another otter/koala mixture that seemed to have the body of a koala, but the head and fur of an otter! The small creature had a leafy branch in its hands and was currently munching on it (1200/100).

"Things just keep getting more and more interesting here," Price pointed out to no one in particular.

"How true that is!" York laughed as she snapped her fingers towards the Sea Koala who lifted up the clam shell over its head. "Cause now, I can activate Sea Koala's effect! Since I've got another beast out on the field, I can lower your Sensou's attack all the way to zero!"

The koala/otter quickly threw the clam shell towards the blue machine, almost creating a blinding aura that threatened to stab into the machine's body. However, Sensou quickly spun around and kicked the clam shell high into the air, sending it away (3000/500).

"Huh?" York questioned with a puzzled look on her face.

"That won't work on Sensou here," Price pointed out as Sensou seemed to puff out his metallic chest a little bit. "Ya see, Sensou's got two effects, one's his ability to normal summon him if you've got a monster out and I don't. His second ability is that his attack and defense can't be lowered by card effects."

"… Ha!" York laughed loudly as she held her sides. "Nice one Prof! I honestly didn't see that coming! Usually I can get a lot of people with this combo right here… But, don't think that just because your monster's useful effect helped out, that it'll be enough!"

Price rubbed his chin a few times as he watched York pull out another card from her hand, '_It's only been a few turns since we started this duel, but already I can tell that Miss York has skills… Which begs the question, why is she a second year red student?'_

"I play the spell card – Polymerization!" York announced as the card materialized in front of her, drawing in both the Sea Koala and the Tree Otter into the vortex. "So, I'll take these two critters like here to bring out the big guns!"

The vortex began to spark until it shattered to reveal a large purple and blue furred giant of a beast, with the characteristics of a muscular koala and otter with a large tail that slammed into the rocks right next to York's body (2800/200). "Koalo-Koala!"

Price's eye twitched slightly as he looked at the weird monster before him, "Now that's something I'd expect from you…"

"He gets even better!" York snickered as she lifted up a card from her hand which was a monster card called 'King of the Beasts'. "Cause now I can play his ability! By discarding one beast from my hand, I can instantly destroy one of your monsters out on the field!"

Price's eyes widened as the powerful beast spun around and slammed its fist directly into Sensou's body, sending the powerful machine into the water, even making the blue armored mech bounce along the water's surface a few times before it disappeared.

"And I'm still not done!" York announced as she held up her duel disk, making a slot open up along the side. "I'm playing a signature card of mine – The mighty Closed Forest!"

The ground began to shake as York slipped the card into her duel disk. Price stumbled a bit before he realized that several trees were erupting from the side of the cliff, the rocky bay and even the ocean itself, encircling the two duelists as if it was a large cage. When the shaking stopped, Price looked around, "What in the world?"

"Like I said, welcome to the Closed Forest!" York introduced as the Koalo-Koala jumped up and grabbed on of the branches above it (2800/200 + 500/0). "And for each beast in my graveyard, all other monsters on my field gain one hundred attack points! And I've got five of them so far… But let me warn ya Prof, each time you destroy one of my beasts, the next one will come out even stronger!

"And while this card's out, don't bother playing any field cards you might have! This card prevents either of use from activating field spells!"

Price merely looked around and rubbed his chin at the sight around him. "Certainly an interesting field spell, that's for sure."

"Glad you approve!" York announced as she lifted her hand up into the air. "Now, how about we shave off a few of those life points of yours? Koalo-Koala! Attack Prof directly!"

The large purple furred beast flew through the air and immediately slammed its fist directly into Price's body, making the young professor fall to the rocky ground with mouth opened up, "GACK!" (PLP: 4400)

As the large beast pulled its fist back, Price slowly sat up and dusted off his red coat, "Ow… Damn, that was a good move, hard to believe you're a second year red student."

York rubbed the back of her head before she crossed her arms, "Heh, it doesn't matter what color a person wears, Prof. Raw skill is just raw skill waiting to be tempered. This red uniform is only for decoration, and doesn't show a person's true skill."

Price rubbed his chin again as he jumped to his feet, "Alright, if that's the case, then I'll have to step up my game a little bit! I play my trap card – Shock Draw! Over three thousand points of damage, and I get three cards!"

The Osiris Red Professor pulled off the top three cards from his deck and fanned them out in front of him.

"Searching for something?" York questioned as she fitted two cards into her duel disk, making them appear behind her tall Koalo-Koala, who was hanging over her field.

"Not any more," Price admitted with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Well, don't keep me waitin'," York chuckled as she pumped her arm towards her chest. "Show me what ya got!"

"I'll try not to disappoint," Price stated as he pulled off another card in his hand, giving him seven cards in his hand. Looking over the group of cards, Price quickly lifted up a single card from his hand. "To start off, I'm playing the spell card Monster Reborn! So, I'll bring back a familiar face!"

A powerful blue light appeared in front of Price, revealing the sleek Sensou back on the field (2300/500), throwing a few punches through the air. Price however held up another card from his hand, "This time, he'll be outfitted with this, Pump Up!"

A powerful blue aura erupted over Sensou's body, and its metallic body began to shine even brighter with each passing second (2300/500 + 2300/0). "So, until the end phase of the turn, my monster's strength is doubled! And to add a little more power to my side of the field, I summon Quality in attack mode!"

Another robot appeared on the field, this one a large bulky white armored machine with a large shield attached to its arm (1200/1500). "Now then, Sensou attack Koalo-Koala!"

The blue armored machine dashed towards the large hybrid beast, which prompted the Koalo-Koala release the branches it clutched onto and threw a powerful punch towards Sensou. However, the quick machine leapt out of the way just as the large fist crashed into the rocks.

Sensou spun around through the air and delivered a powerful kick to the large beast, however, the purple furred monster lifted its other arm up and blocked the kick. The Koalo-Koala immediately lifted its other hand to smash the Arc Mech into the trees, but the nimble machine slammed its hands into the large fist, which pushed the blue armored machine through the air and slammed its foot right into the Koalo-Koala's face.

The large beast slammed into the ground with a loud boom and immediately shattered into million of pixels, which scattered when Sensou landed on the rocky ground.

"Although Pump Up's a powerful card," Price admitted as Sensou leapt back to his field. "Its card ruling changed since the time of the King of Games. Now whenever a player plays this card, all battle damage done by the selected monster this turn is dropped to zero.

"But that's why I have Quality out on the field! Attack York directly!"

The large white armored machine leapt over the field, its shield covered arm prepared to slam into York's body…

"Good move Prof! But not good enough!" York shouted as she pushed a button on her duel disk, making one of her face down cards flip up, revealing a Sabertooth Tiger attacking a horse. "I play Battle Instinct! Since I have no monsters and you declared a direct attack, I get to summon a beastie from my hand!

"And I choose Nimble Momonga!"

The trap card shattered, immediately allowing a large Momonga to float onto the field, hissing loudly as it raised its arms up (1000/100 + 600/0).

"And thanks to your field spell," Price muttered as the Quality stepped back. "I recall my attack."

"Is that all you can do Prof?" York questioned with her arms crossed under her breasts. "In all honesty, I expected a little more from you. You wouldn't happen to be holding back just make sure I don't get expelled, would you?"

Price smirked to himself as he thumbed the glasses in his front pocket, "… To be honest, you've sparked my curiosity. So, I've been reading you and your cards and frankly, from what I've been able to psychoanalyze about you, I think I can make a decent hypothesis concerning your actions."

"Huh?" York muttered with a large question mark over her head.

"Uh, I've been studying you ever since this duel started," Price coughed with a twinge of red on his face at having to explain himself again. "Basically, I'm trying to figure out what makes you tick."

"Ah, I get it," York laughed loudly as she smiled brightly. "So, what did your 'sci-ko-anna-lies' come up with?"

Price took a few moments to look at York with a deadpanned look before he shook his head. "Let's take a look at you actions first – You stand up to a bunch of Obelisk Blue Students who are messing with a fellow red student. You were only going for intimidation tactics until they laid a hand on you, then it was in self-defense.

"Next, let's take into consideration your dueling skills. So far, you're able to dodge attacks well as well as pull of some pretty powerful combos that could easily defeat some meta-players.

"Now, let's take into the last part – the color of your vest there. That design was made for a second year student – Before I came here, I looked up your and Tenri Kujo's records, I kept to only recent years. So I saw your prior grades from the previous years, you had high marks and were even offered several chances for dorm transfers in the last year.

"However, you declined them all, even the automatic promotion that most students are offered. And listening to your words in this duel - about your knowledge about the red dorm, a pride of the color red, as well as your confidence in your skills – I can conclude a few things about you."

York turned her gaze a little bit to the side, and rubbed her head slightly.

"Adrian York, either you say it, or I will," Price stated with his eyes narrowed slightly. "From where I stand, I can see what drives you."

"I'd like to see you try," York growled as Price held up three cards from his hand.

"If that's how you want to play it," Price answered as he slipped all three of the cards into his duel disk, making them immediately appear behind this two robotic monsters. "Then fine! I set three cards and end my turn!"

It was then that Sensou's armor began to return to its regular shade (2300/500).

"I don't know what you think you know about me," York growled as she reached for her deck. "But I would prefer if you didn't 'sci-ko-anna-lies' me and then leave me hanging."

"I just need to confirm one last thing before I speak my mind," Price answered as he lifted his hand up to his face and rested his other arm over his waist. "If I insulted you, I apologize."

"Heh, feel free to study all you like," York answered back as she looked over the cards in her hand, a smirk appearing on her face. "It's not going to help. I set one monster face down. Then I'll switch Momonga to defense mode as well. And to end my turn, I'll set one card face down."

The set cards appeared around the crouching Nimble Momonga.

"… Going defensive now?" Price questioned as he slowly drew from the top of his deck. "Fine by me, cause its at this time that I can now activate my Future Fusion's effect right now! Now, since I sent my three Quantities to the graveyard, I can summon their fusion monster!"

A powerful explosion of flames erupted from the spell card, immediately building up into a large and tall form. The flames immediately scattered to reveal a large bulky armored, man-shaped machine that stood tall amongst Price's monsters. The light gleamed off of its silver and black armor as well as the large guns that were positioned at its waist. Resting on the large machine's shoulder was a large rocket launcher that had four white missiles attached to it (2500/2400). "So, I can summon out Heavy Artillery Q-3! And now, I activate my trap card – Meteorain!"

York's eyes widened as she watched a powerful red aura cover all three of Price's monsters. "What the…?"

"I don't normally use this trap," Price announced as he slipped another card into his duel disk. "But I felt the need to do so, and next I'll play Fighting Spirit! So, by equipping it to my Quality, it gains three hundred extra attack points for each monster on your field! So far, that's two, but that'll be more than enough!" 

The fiery aura around the white machine began to also pulse with golden energy, making the machine make a dramatic pose (1200/1500 + 600/0).

"And I'll have him lead the fight!" Price continued as the shield armed machine leapt through the air. "Quality! Attack Nimble Momonga! Shield Crash!"

Just as the machine was about to slam its shield into the small flying squirrel, three priestesses appeared on the field. York smirked as she lifted her hand up to the side, "Not gunna happen! I play my trap card Waboku! So your attacks…"

"Will go through!" Price roared back as he pushed a button on his duel disk. "I activate Seven Tools of the Bandit!" (PLP: 3400)

All three of the priestesses shrieked loudly as all three of them shattered like glass, their remains flying out of the way of the oncoming Quality as it slammed its shield into the Nimble Momonga, slamming it into the ground before it exploded into pixels that flew into York's body. "Gargh!" (YLP: 6300)

However as the pixels began to disappear, York stood up straight and took a deep breath. "You may have finally inflicted damage, but for destroying my Momonga, I can increase my life points by a thousand!" (YLP: 7300)

"You do have your Momonga's other ability," Price pointed out with a smirk on his face. "You could summon the other two from your deck to reinforce your field and pad your points."

'_Yeah right, if I do that,'_ York thought to her self as she looked at the field. '_Then I'll take more damage than gain more life points. My face down monster may not the best, but it can at least take a few more attacks.'_

"Just continue your turn," York replied as the Quality (1800/1500 – 300/0) leapt backwards.

Price perked his eyebrow up. "Very well, if that's what you want… Q-3! Attack her face down monster! Rocket Barrage!"

Taking aim, the large humanoid mecha turned its missile launcher at the face down monster and immediately launched one of the missiles that crashed into the face down monster.

The rocket exploded into a fiery storm that made the face down monster reveal a small cute mole with a pickaxe in its paw and a mining helmet covering its head (1000/1200 + 700/0). Miraculously, the small flower nosed mole survived the missile onslaught, unfortunately, York's life points weren't as lucky. "Gargh!" (YLP: 6000)

"Mine Mole," Price muttered to himself as he crossed his arms. "Once per turn, that beast can't be destroyed in battle. It's a handy monster in beast decks… But its effect is moot at the moment! Sensou!"

The blue fighting machine leap through the air and slammed its foot into the Mine Mole's helmet, which broke the protective gear and sent the small mole into the ground. (YLP: 4900)

'_Damn,_' York thought to herself as she fitted the Mine Mole's card into her duel disk's graveyard slot. '_I guess Prof isn't a professor for nothing, it was almost as if he could see what I was about to try…'_

"And like that," Price stated as he crossed his arms over his chest. "I can see the truth."

"Huh?" York questioned.

"I can see the reason why you remain as a red student," Price answered as he snapped his right arm away from his chest and pointed towards York. "And why you chose not to advance to the Ra Yellow dorm…

"You're afraid of change, or rather, you're afraid what the change will do to you. Even if it hurts you, you'd rather not experience this change, for you think that it will cause you more pain."

York blinked a few times. "W-What?"

"Your last move revealed that to me," Price explained with a smirk on his face. "If you had chosen to use your Nimble Momonga's effect, yes, you would've taken more damage, but you'd get a buffer of a thousand points for each, and would still have a monster out on the field for use next turn.

"Tribute, or even Synchro summon if you had one of those cards, and with your Mine Mole, you would've been able to sustain less damage next turn."

"How the hell do you get that from a card game?" York questioned, taking a step back.

"You don't look at the cards themselves," Price answered with his eyes closed. "Rather you look at the person playing the cards, everyone has something that gives them away. It can be seen on a person's face, their body language, or even in the moves themselves. What it can't tell me is the reason why there is that fear, the only one who can is standing right in front of me.

"Adrian York, you can keep dodging this fear of yours, but you'll never be truly strong. You can be afraid, but you can't let that fear control you. We can keep playing this dodging game, but it won't get either of us anywhere, so please, tell me your reason."

York clenched her fists tight and turned her head away.

"YORK!" Price snapped.

The muscular girl threw her arm to the side, "You wanna know so bad? Fine! I had friends who were in the Red dorm last year, but they were all given a chance to be promoted to the next dormitory, and took it.

"I was happy for them, don't get me wrong. I was proud to be their friend when they ascended into Ra Yellow, but as time went by and as I was still climbing the ranks to get to my promotion exam, I noticed something about my so-called friends. They started avoiding me, it started slowly at first, but it began to happen more and more often.

"I got sick of it, and so I decided to confront one of my so-called friends about the matter… And she insulted me, she and a whole bunch of other Ra Yellows gained up on me and really hurt me – physically."

"Uh," Price muttered out loud.

"This was before I was this buff," York answered quickly with her arms crossed. "In any case, I was hurt… Badly, but when I told the previous red dorm professor, the guy you replaced, he only listened to the Ra Yellows and I was disregarded save for only getting my bruises covered. At first, I thought that the sooner I get to Ra Yellow, the faster I could put that mess behind me…

"But then I thought 'what if I become like that?' My friends were so nice to me when we wore the same colored uniform, but all of a sudden, they hated me. And why? Just because I wore red. I didn't want to become like that, I didn't want to lose who I was…"

"I see," Price stated with his eyes opened. "York, first, let me apologize for pushing you so hard. I didn't mean to have you recall the pain of your past, and I might not have known about this, but let me tell you this…

"If anyone ever messes with any student of mine, even if it's another student, I will judge the situation fairly, and I will listen to all sides! I won't brush off any incident!"

"Words are all fine like wine," York answered with her eyes narrowed. "But they're meaningless!"

"How right you are," Price retorted. "However, would my words be meaningless if we were standing here? After you assaulted some fellow students I could've just expelled you right off the bat, but I listened to your half of the story and even offered this duel to give you a chance to stop any punishment that would befall you…

"I'm listening to you, I'm giving you a fair shot, and I'm giving you my word – Not as a professor, but as a fellow duelist! If anyone ever harms my students, I will do whatever I can in my power to help my students!"

York blinked a few times at Price's declaration, and the seriousness that was in his eyes. She stepped back slightly from the sharp eyes aimed at her. "Prof… Price…"

"York," Price stated as he held up a card and slipped it into his duel disk, making it appear behind his three machines. "We have a duel to finish, come at me with everything you have."

"And what's that going to accomplish?" York questioned with a blink of her eyes.

"I told you that this duel would determine your fate at the academy," Price answered back as all three of his machines struck dramatic poses. "For now, it's your own hands that'll determine your fate. You can surrender right now and remain as you are – a weakling who's falsifying her comfort zone…

"Or you can fight! Become truly strong! And break this façade!"

York lowered her gaze slightly.

"You say you're strong," Price added with his arms crossed. "But if you cling to this façade, then you'll be nothing more than the same person who was hurt and you'll continue to be hurt in the same manner! Prove me wrong! Prove that you are strong!"

York lifted her head up and smirked, "You wanna see strength? Fine! I'll show you just how strong I truly am!"

Immediately, York pulled off the top card from her deck. However, there seemed to be something to this duel as a powerful burst of air stretched over the rocky ground in front of Price making him lift his arm up. '_What the?'_

And from her perch, Tenri raised an eyebrow as she eyed York's body, "Hmm… Looks like I found something that'll really get Mustang's attention."

York turned the card for her eyes to see, and a smile appeared on her face, '_I drew you! My favorite card!'_

"Alright Prof," York announced as she slapped a card onto her duel disk. "You wanted to see my best, well, you're about to get it! I summon my deck's star and my favorite monster in this entire game!"

A could of large black smoke popped in front of York, immediately scattered to reveal a small furry creature that had a large green, yet cute face with two yellow and black eyes. The creature landed on the rocky ground and yawned loudly (100/100 + 800/0). "Moja!"

"Moja?" Price muttered under his breath. '_If I recall, its effect activates when it's destroyed in battle…'_

A smile grew on York's face at the sight of the odd snoozing creature in front of her. "I don't know why, but this little guy here just makes me feel good whenever I see him… In any case, it's at this point that I'll be taking back this duel! Because I have Moja out on the field, I can activate the effect of a monster in my graveyard…

"… So my little Moja is about to grow up big and strong!"

The Moja suddenly woke up, its entire body of black fur began to ripple. And with a loud roar, the Moja created four bone like legs to shoot out of its body and slam into the rocky earth. The Moja's body began to grow larger and larger with each passing second until it towered over the field, looking down on the three monsters on Price's field with a now horrifying skull-like face with two horns protruding from its head (2500/800 + 800/0).

The large beast roared loudly as all three of the machines on Price's field stepped back, "The King of the Beasts! Now, attack his Sensou!"

The powerful beast roared into action, immediately stomping over the field and immediately tackled into the blue armored Arc Mech, shattering the machine upon impact and sending the remains flying over Price's body. "URK!" (PLP: 2400)

"But I'm not done!" York announced as she pushed a button on her duel disk, allowing a ghostly aura to appear over her King of the Beasts. "I now play my trap card – Beast Soul Swap! So, he comes right back to my hand!"

All at once, the mighty titan of power disappeared, however, York simply held up the card in her hand and quickly slapped it back onto her duel disk, "But he's not staying there for too long! Cause thanks to my trap, I can summon him right back onto the field!"

York slapped the card onto her duel disk, allowing the large King of the Beasts to reappear on the field, roaring loudly (2500/800 + 800/0). "Now, smash Q-3!"

Once again, the large beast charged over the field and crashed into the heavily armed robot, crushing it under its massive weight. (PLP: 1600)

"Not bad," Price admitted as he lowered his duel disk. "Certainly fierce."

"Thanks, now to seal the deal," York announced as she slipped one of the last few cards in her hand into her duel disk. "One set card. Turn end!"

Price slowly drew from the top of his deck and nodded, "I'll end my turn by simply having my Quality move to defense position."

The large white armored robot immediately crouched down, lifting its shield up to cover itself (1500/1500). "And that's all I can do."

York smirked as she drew her next card and immediately slapped the card onto her duel disk, "And I'll just keep upping the ante! I summon Des Wombat in attack mode!"

Leaping from the trees of the Closed Forest, a large furry wombat appeared in front of the muscular girl. As soon as it landed on the ground, it began to scratch its ears with its hind leg (1600/300 + 800/0).

"Now, Des Wombat!" York announced as the large wombat jumped into the air and slammed into the Quality, however, the machine didn't break but the golden aura around its body did (1200/1500).

"Thanks to Fighting Spirit," Price explained as he fitted the card into his graveyard. "My machine doesn't get destroyed in battle, it does."

"True, but I've got my King of the Beasts out!" York roared as her large black furred beast roared alongside her. "And he'll be the one crushing your machine! King of the Beasts!"

The powerful beast roared loudly and leapt into the air, immediately fell to the ground to crush the large machine beneath it.

However, as the King of the Beasts began to walk away from the remains of the machine, three silver hands erupted from the ground. Price smirked as he held up three cards from his graveyard and slid them across his duel disk, "And I have to thank that big beastie for activating Quality's effect, now I can special summon as many Quantity cards from my graveyard as possible!

"And the fusion components for Q-3 were all three Quantities! So I can summon all three of them!"

Three small robots appeared in front Price, each of them a more simplified version of the Quality (500/500 x3).

"I was wondering what that thing was made of," York admitted as she crossed her arms. "In any case, I end my turn!"

Price slowly drew from his deck, and nodded at the cards he drew. "Well, York, I have to say, you've really impressed me. If there wasn't a red vest on ya, I'd have mistaken you for a duelist from a higher dorm with some of the moves that you pulled. And for that, I'd tip my hat to you if I had a hat on."

"Heh, why are you talking like this is the end?" York laughed with her arms crossed.

"Cause it is!" Price announced as he slapped a card onto his duel disk. "First, I summon Kamakiri Blades in attack mode!"

A green light appeared in front of Price, immediately shattering to unleash the green armored praying mantis machine appear in front of him (1400/800). "Next, I'll activate the spell card – Power Bond!"

"Power Bond!" York yelped.

And from the cliff, Tenri's eyes widened when she saw all three of the Quantities leap up into the air, their bodies starting to come apart and reassemble themselves into a familiar powerful machine. '_He runs a card like that in his deck! He must be sure of himself!'_

As the parts finally finished coming together, a second Heavy Artillery – Q3 crashed onto the field, this time with a second rocket launcher that was strapped to its other shoulder (2500/2400 + 2500/0). "And now, his attack is doubled thanks to Power Bond's effect!"

"It's a powerful monster," York stated as she pushed a button on her duel disk. "Too bad I can't let you use him! I play my trap card, Threatening Roar!"

The King of the Beasts immediately unleashed a powerful roar that began to shake the entire rocky area. "So, you don't get a battle phase this turn! And the moment you end your turn, you'll take enough damage to allow me to win this…"

Before York could continue, the King of the Beasts' roar was immediately silenced, and instead the powerful beast was actually starting to cower slightly. "What the?"

"Royal Decree," Price explained as his forgotten face down card had flipped up, creating a powerful red barrier that shattered York's trap card. "I chained it to your Threatening Roar, so your trap card's effect is negated! So I can continue my assault!

"But before that, I'll use the union effect of my Kamakiri Blades and equip it to Q-3! So now, not only does he gain three hundred more attack points, but he'll gain a few more weapons to his already impressive collection!"

The praying mantis began to come apart and then merged with Q-3's body, adding a pair of green blades to the machine's arms (5000/2400 + 300/0). "And now, attack King of the Beasts!"

Taking aim with one of the rocket launchers, Q-3 fired several missiles through the air and crashed into the large black furred beast's body, shattering the monster's body. (YLP: 2900)

York stumbled slightly at the sight of her powerful beast being destroyed so easily, and even the Des Wombat staggered a little bit as well (2400/300 + 100/0). "And now, thanks to the Kamakiri Blades, Q-3 can attack once more!"

Taking aim once again, Q-3 fired off the missiles and instantly destroyed the Des Wombat which sent a powerful surge of fire that racked over York's body, which made her stumble backwards. "GARGH!" (YLP: 100)

York took a deep breath as she began to recompose herself, but looked worryingly at Price who was fingering one of the last cards in his hand. '_That card… I may have only one hundred points left, but that card, it might… It might just…'_

"I end my turn," Price announced as several sparks of energy began to erupt around his body. "Of course, since I played Power Bond, I now take damage equal to the original attack of my monster.

"Therefore, I lose." (PLP: 0)

"Huh?" York questioned.

"Huh?" Tenri yelped.

Slowly the holograms began to disappear, which allowed Price to walk towards York with a smile on his face as he reached for his glasses, "Well now… Congratulations Miss York."

Price placed his glasses on his face, and smiled slightly at York, "That was an excellent duel, and I look to see several more while you're still a student here."

When Price opened his eyes, it was revealed that his sharp, serious eyes had returned to their calm and serene state. "S-So, please s-stay in class t-t-tomorrow, if that's n-not too much trouble."

"W-Wait a second," York stuttered as she stomped forward slightly. "Why did you take that damage! You could've done something to stop that, couldn't you?"

"S-Sorry, but I didn't," Price chuckled sheepishly as he staggered back slightly. "And as m-much as I would like t-to stay and c-chat, but I have a f-few matters to deal with and… Have a n-nice day!"

And just like that, Price dashed off towards the rocky stairwell that would lead him back to the top of the cliff, unaware that he had dropped a card from his hand in the process. York blinked a few times in confusion at the professor's weird transition and slowly lifted up the card that Price dropped. "This is…"

All the while, Tenri slowly began to stand up and dust the wrinkles out of her uniform. "Hmm, how interesting. It looks like we've got another potential member to Mustang's little club. I wonder how she managed to get under the radar, she's a second year actually."

As Tenri turned to walk back to the dorm, a small, transparent flame appeared around her body, twisting around her frame until it just disappeared barely five seconds later.

**TTTTTTTT**

_The next morning…_

Unlike the previous morning, Price wasn't late to his class, in fact he was actually quite early. The downside to this was that he was extremely tired, and showcased it by the dark marks under his eyes and his sluggish movements. "Ugh…"

At this point, some people could've almost mistaken the red professor as nothing more than a zombie. _'I spent most of the night trying to convince Hund to overlook the incident… After all, it turned out those Obelisk Blues made complaints, s-so I had explain to H-Hund what happened…_

'_Took until the early hours of the morning. And Hund's allowed to sleep in since his classes are in the afternoon.'_

Price rounded the corner slowly, and was on the final stretch of his classroom, his footsteps echoing through the near emptied hallway. But he noticed that there was someone standing out of his classroom, making him stop when he realized who it was in front of his classroom.

It's hard not to miss a tanned, muscular girl who rivaled the red professor in height.

She seemed to notice him as well and walked up to Price, her arms crossed at the tired professor. "Good Morning, Professor Price."

"Yes, it's a good…" Price yawned loudly. "Morning, Miss York… C-Can I help you w-w-with something?"

"Yeah, after our duel yesterday," York answered as she uncrossed her arms, holding up a single duel monster card towards Price. "You dropped this."

Price blinked a few times when he realized that the card he had dropped was a quick-play spell card called De-Fusion. "Oh… T-Thank you."

York tossed the card to Price who gingerly caught the card in his hand, smiling bashfully as York smirked at him. "Naw… Thank you."

And with that, York walked into the classroom, with Price watching as the muscular teenaged girl disappeared into the classroom.

A smile on his face, Price fitted the card in his front pocket and slowly began to head into his classroom, this time hoping that he wouldn't be assaulted by thrown students.

_TBC_

**TTTTTT**

**Card Stats**

**Koalo Koala / Earth / LV. 6 / ATK: 2800 / DEF: 200 / Beast/Fusion/Effect:** [Sea Koala + Tree Otter] You can send 1 Beast-Type monster from your hand to the graveyard to destroy one monster your opponent controls.

**Description:** a large, overly muscular, blue furred, koala/otter monster that stood on its hind legs with a large otter like tail

_This is a Japanese Promo card that has yet to reach the shores of America._

**Pump Up / Normal Spell / Effect:** Select 1 face-up monster on the field. Double it's ATK until the End Phase. All Battle Damage done by the selected monster during this turn is lowered to 0.

**Image:** A large dark furred horned Kuriboh growing larger with each passing second

_This card was used by Yami Yugi in the original Yu-Gi-Oh! __Anime. However, in order to make this card more fair, I edited this card slightly._

**Beast Burial Ritual / Normal Trap / Effect:** Destroy 1 Beast-type monster you control and draw 2 cards. Cards drawn by this effect cannot be used this turn.

**Image:** A large stone alter being struck with a large amount of light

_This card was used in Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's. _

**Quality / Earth / LV. 4 / ATK: 1200 / DEF: 1500 / Machine/Effect:** When this card is destroyed in battle, special summon as many 'Quantity' from your graveyard as possible.  
><strong>Description:<strong> A large white armored robot armed with a laser cannon and shield  
><em>This card was used by Reggie in the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Manga.<em>

**Spade Bureido / Earth / LV. 4 / ATK: 1700 / DEF: 1200 / Machine/Effect:** ?

**Description:** A silver armored machine that has sharp shoulder pads and helmet that had several green spade marks on it. And strapped to the armored monster's back was a large black broad sword that had a large spade design carved into it.

**Heavy Artillery Q-3 / Earth / LV. 7 / ATK: 2500 / DEF: 2400 / Machine/Fusion/Effect:** [Quantity + Quantity + Quantity] This card cannot be special summoned except by Fusion Summon. When this card would be destroyed by a card effect, you may remove one 'Quantity' from your graveyard to negate this card's destruction.  
><strong>Description:<strong> a large bulky armored, man-shaped machine, its armor silver and black. All over the machine's body were several cannons, machine guns and heavy weapons

**TTTTTTT**

**So, what's a Duel Spirit?**

**You'd be surprised at what students can do. **

**So, why does she do this?**

**Father…**

**The abandoned dorm…**

**WAHAHAHA!**

**You foolish mortal…**

**What in the world are you?**

**H… Help me…**

**I will not go back so easily!**

**For messing with my student's feelings**

**I will not forgive you!**

**Next time:**

_**Draw 5**_

_**Blues, Abandoned Dorm and **__**Spirits**_


	5. Draw 5A: Blues, Abandoned Dorm, Spirits

_**I have heard of spirits before, mostly in ghost stories – About how they can possess people, haunt people or even cause misfortune. They are used in pop culture, movies, and even in duel monsters, I believe there's a set of cards that is based on those concepts as well. **_

_**In any case, there are those who believe that spirits actually exist, and that they are amongst us. Others believe that it is just a useless gesture that's been made to make people wonder what would happen when they cross over to the other side. **_

_**Me?**_

_**Honestly, I'm not sure about which side I'm on. But looking at the class roster, there appears to be a class that's related to spirits, more specifically, it's a history class that goes with some mysterious happenings.**_

_**Apparently, it looks like it's quite popular with the students – First, second and third years. Red, yellow, blue. Students from all dorms and years are interested in this class…**_

_**Unfortunately, I'm not in charge of the class, nor do I teach history… Although, a few of my students are in this class, and I myself am finding an interest in this class as well…**_

_**But I wonder if some students take this a little bit too far…**_

_**TTTTT**_

_**Draw 5A**_

_**Blues, Abandoned Dorm, and Spirits**_

_**TTTTTTT**_

_Time: Friday, 11:59 p.m._

_Location: ?_

In a dark room located in a large musty building, a single dark figure walked around the room, a large brush in their hands as they painted something on the large ground.

From a high enough distance, one could see that there was a large circle that seemed to have a large eye painted in the center of it. The figure finished painted the circle and tossed the brush over to the side with a loud clank.

The figure held up a deck case of cards and immediately opened up, pulling out a single card from the deck. "Please work this time…"

The figure held the card up to their eyes before they tossed the card into the center of the eye, the moment that the card hit the ground, a powerful bright light erupted from the ground where the rune was painted on. The figure smiled as they held their hands up into the air, '_Yes! It's working! It's working!_

Two ghostly auras began to pour from the rune, one of them shaping into the head of a large hawk and the other forming into a sleek jackal head. A powerful bright blue and orange light began to pour from the ring, slowly engulfing the two animal heads…

"Yes… YES! Come! Come to this realm!"

As the light began to grow larger and larger, it slowly began to take shape, forming into a tall, regal form of a man. The figure's eyes were gleaming with pride as they watched the form beginning to solidify. "Almost… Just a little more!"

However, at that very moment, a very discreet shadow lashed across the ground and stabbed into the regal form, shattering it into millions of sparks.

The figure's eyes widened as the sparks rained around their body, "No! It was so close! Why? Why does it still fail!"

The figure fell to their knees and placed their hands onto the ground. A few moments passed before the figure stood up, rubbing their eyes, "… No… I can't give up. If I can do this successfully one more time, then I'm sure that it'll work!"

**TTTTTTTT**

_Time: Saturday, 1:42 p.m._

The first week of Duel Academia's classes was slowly wrapping up, and it was certainly an interesting Saturday for the students… But it was a busy day for the professors of the academy.

"Ah… CHOOOOOOO!"

Price rubbed his nose, for the last half-hour he had been sneezing quite a few times as he was going over the first few assignments he had given to his students over the week. So far the grades were… Acceptable.

In any case, Price was glad no one else was around as he was in his own private room (which was situated in the middle of the male dorm). The room itself was quite spacious… But it was actually supposed to be made as a dorm room for a larger group of students, not that it bugged Price. The room was actually bigger than his old apartment, and actually had working lights, water and electricity to it.

The only thing that Price really had to complain about was…

DRIP!

DRIP!

Price sighed loudly as he wiped the water off from the top of his hair. '_This is the first floor, so why is it leaking here?'_

Looking out the window, Price sighed at the sight of the rain that was pouring outside. While this was an island, it was not exempt from bad weather, still, considered that this was surrounded by an ocean, a simple rain storm was alright.

Still, how did the roof in Price's ceiling leak? He was on the first floor!

Making the final mark on the final assignment he had to grade, Price sighed loudly as he placed the paper into a large pile to the right on his desk (it was practically the only place that didn't have water dripping on it). "And l-like that… I'm done."

Price sat back in his seat and breathed a sigh of relief.

It had been a few days since the incident involving York and the Obelisk Blues had passed, and frankly the whole affair was quite tiresome. Through out the entire week, Price had to keep trying to convince Hund about York's side of the story (which was hard since most of the Obelisk Blues who were involved spoke in opposition)…

… But somehow, Hund listened in the end.

With a loud sigh, Price threw his arms over his head and stretched them out, "… Now that I've gotten that done… I can finally relax. Hmm, maybe I should take a nap, I certainly could use the rest… Or…"

Price looked left and right, a little habit he had developed in his own school days. He knew that there was no one around, but it was still a habit that he had developed. With the coast clear, Price reached into one of the drawers of the desk he sat at, and pulled out an older book that had seen better days. The new professor smiled greatly as he opened the book. "I haven't had a chance to catch up on my… 'reading' since I got here. Let's see, were was the last time I left off? Oh yeah!"

Turning quite a few pages, Price smirked when he found the creased page and slowly began to read, "I can't believe its been a month since I last read this book, nothing like a good, hardboiled-noire story to kill a rainy day like today."

Just as Price was about start his reading his novel, there was a loud rapping sound on his door, making him lift his head up from his book. "J-Just one minute!"

With a quick crease of the page, Price quickly hid the book once more and walked over to the door, as soon as he reached it Price opened the door, only to have the door come flying open and right into his face. "URK!"

Price fell to the floor as he gripped his nose, it was a miracle that his glasses didn't break upon impact! "Gah!"

"Hey, Prof! What ya doing on the floor?"

Price looked up from his current wound and looked to the door to see a pair of familiar faces looking in through the door. One of the faces belonged to the very student whom he had helped defend over the past week – the muscular York. The second face was none other than Machi, albeit her long hair was a little wet from the rain, but still…

"Yeesh, it's the weekend, and you're just lazing about," Machi grumbled with a roll of her eyes. "You certainly know how to waste time."

"S-Sorry," Price muttered as he slowly got to his feet. "S-So, w-what can I do for you t-t-two today?"

"You still have that damn habit?" Machi growled with a shake of her head. "Yeesh… Well whatever, hurry up, we need you to come with us."

"Huh?" Price questioned with a question mark appearing over his head.

"You need not worry Prof," York pointed out. "It's nothing serious, just about a class…"

"A class that you've skipped during your freshman time," Machi pointed out. "In any case Price, since you're still new around here, and Hund thought it would be good to pair you up with another professor for a conjoined class."

"Oh, s-so I'm going to w-work with you Machi-sama?" Price questioned as he rubbed his still sore nose.

"Hell no!" Machi spat back with her arms crossed. "I don't think I could stand being in the same classroom as you for a school week! I might go insane!"

"O-Okay," Price muttered with a blush on his face.

"I mean, it might as well be a punishment!" Machi continued. "Dealing with your stuttering!"

"O-Okay, I get the point," Price chuckled sheepishly. "So… I-If I'm not w-working with you… Then…"

"That's why we're here," Machi interrupted with her hands on her hips. "I'm taking you and York here to meet the professor who you'll be working with."

"Uh, okay, but w-why is Y-York coming along?" Price questioned.

"Like I said, she skipped out on this class last semester," Machi explained, her tone starting to show signs that she didn't like answering all these questions. "So, I figured it would kill another bird with a single stone, I plan on introducing her to the professor in question so it would work well. Of course, there are other students taking this, but since she was supposed to take this class last year…"

"Alright, alright, that's enough," York stated with her arms raised up defensively. "I think Prof gets the idea."

While a little intimidated by Machi's bluntness, Price did get the overall picture of the situation. He may not have understood that fully, but that was something that these two didn't have to know about. "Uh… A-Alright, I guess. Let me g-grab an umbrella and I'll be ready to go…"

"We don't have the time to dilly-dally," Machi growled as she grabbed onto Price's arm and immediately began to drag him out of his room. "We've only got about five minutes before we have to meet with the professor!"

"W-Wait a second!" Price yelped, but was surprisingly overpowered by the smaller professor who dragged him out of his private room.

**TTTTTTT**

_Time: 2:15 p.m._

While the trip to the main academy building wasn't a long journey from the red dorm, but it was still long enough for Price get completely soaked by the rain that was pouring down from the sky outside. However…

"E-Explain w-w-why couldn't I g-get an umbrella again," Price sniffled as she shook his head, trying to dry his hair.

"You be quiet," Machi growled back as she snapped her umbrella dry. "You're supposed to be a man, right? A little rain shouldn't hurt ya, besides, you've got that large red overcoat on ya, it should be enough to keep you dry."

York held her umbrella to the side in an attempt to get the water off of the item, and blinked a few times as Price shivered in place, '_It's hard to imagine that this is the same professor who worked so hard to help me stay here… Is this an act or was that tough guy the act?'_

"F-Fine," Price sighed with a few tears appearing in the corners of his eyes. "S-So, where to n-now?"

"We're meeting her at the Duel Academia Oasis," Machi explained, actually being sounding like she was being considerate this time around. "We'll be meeting her in one of the closed off areas."

"… Duel Academia Oasis?" Price questioned with a tilt of his head.

"I'm not surprised you don't know about it," Machi answered as Price began to unbutton his overcoat, trying to get some of the water off of it. "We only just finished it in the last few days of the last semester…"

"Oh, that's done?" York questioned with a smile on her face. "I remember that it was still under construction.

"Uh… What is this D-D-Duel Academia Oasis?" Price asked with a few questions popping over his head.

**TTTTTT**

What is the Duel Academia Oasis?

Duel Academia Oasis was nothing more than a fancy name for the school's main cafeteria, although the large room itself was in contrast rather built well to include most of the students. And around noon, it was often filled with abuzz with students to chat with their peers or enjoy some of the fine cuisine that was provided for the students (It was a good chance for Osiris Red to enjoy the kind of food that Ra Yellows got).

The atmosphere was also quite impressive as well, since the entire location was designed to resemble that of a beautiful beach cabana and bar (although, the drinks were all non-alcoholic) with calming music being played in the background. It was actually quite an impressive and popular spot on the island.

However around this time, there were only a few students who were seated in the large room, two of them seated in one of the windowed off areas that allowed students to study during the lunch hour or enjoy a quiet lunch.

One of the students was Mustang, simply enjoying a salad. "So, that's what happened."

The student who was seated across from Mustang was none other than the short, white haired duelist that had dueled on the very first night of duel academia – Cain Sonryu. And on the table in front of him was a single bottle of milk, "What? How did we miss someone like that for a full year? I thought you were supposed to be all knowing, Mustang?"

"Whenever did I mention that I knew everything?" Mustang retorted with a dull look in his eyes. "If anything, I was just knowledgeable about what our former boss knew. If anything, you're the same year as her, you should've known about that."

"I came in as a Ra Yellow!" Cain glared daggers at Mustang, "I don't fall into the norm, you lecherous prick!"

"That's an understatement," Mustang chuckled with a large grin on his face. "Your height is definitely below the norm for people your age."

"Go screw yourself," The white haired teen snarled as he snapped up the bottle of milk and began to chug it.

"Oh relax," Mustang sighed with a shake of his head. "In all seriousness, there are quite a few candidates this year that we may need to consider adding to our group. Each of them has the potency…"

"Mustang," Cain grumbled as he pulled the milk bottle away from his mouth. "I know what credentials you're looking for Mustang, physical appearance and having a pretty face aren't crucial factors for this group! We're trying to find people who are…"

Before the short teen could finish, the door to the glassed off room opened up, allowing a familiar red haired girl to casually stroll into it with a small tray of food in her hands. "Hey-O Mustang!"

"Speak of the devil," Cain muttered under his breath before he continued to sip the milk.

"Yeesh, and if it isn't Prince Charming himself," Tenri retorted as she took a seat next to Mustang, a smirk plastered over her face. "What's made you all mad today? Someone point out a certain little fact?"

"Grr," Cain grumbled with a large blood vessel appearing on the side of his head. "Don't push your luck."

"So, what were you talking about?" Tenri asked, her attention drawn to Mustang.

'_Don't ignore me you snotty brat!'_ The short duelist snarled inside his head.

"We were just discussing more potential members for this little clique of ours," Mustang answered, poking around his salad with a fork. "Including the information that you told me about, Tenri."

"Please don't refer to it as a clique," the short teen moaned with a roll of his dark eyes. "This is serious."

"Oh, I see," Tenri muttered as she picked up the apple from her tray. "Although I can see that my information was useful, I can see that you're all business Mustang, and that's not really fun."

"Once we find more members for this group," Mustang defended. "Then I'll be able to relax a little bit."

"I can still see you're still tense from this morning," Tenri cooed with a large smirk on her face. "If you can't relax with a pretty girl in your bed, how can you relax at all?"

Cain spat out the milk that was in his mouth, coughing while the milk splattered against the glass.

"I love the classic comedic spit-take," Tenri giggled before she began to eat her lunch.

"Mustang!" the short teen barked with fire in his eyes. "What the hell are you thinking?"

"Don't get the wrong idea!" Mustang yelped as he lifted his hands up. "Nothing happened, and I wasn't the one behind it either!"

"Forget it," Cain growled spinning the empty milk bottle on his finger. "What happens behind closed doors isn't any of my concern."

"Wow, who'd of thought you were considerate of people's secrets?" Tenri commented.

Cain stopped spinning the bottle and caught it in his right hand, immediately clutching the bottle tightly in the gloved covered hand. "Everyone has skeletons in their closets, I'm no exception. If you wanna share those skeletons, more power to ya, but people shouldn't interfere with other people's affairs unless asked.

"More to the point at hand, we still need to get to the business at hand. From what information we gathered tells me, there are at least three students who possess the quality that our little group is looking for. One's been confirmed in Osiris Red, but we haven't made contact yet.

"Then there's that weird character in Ra Yellow, we don't know if he has what we're looking for, but we need to keep an eye on him. And finally, there's another in Obelisk Blue, but we haven't been able to approach them…

"Due to a certain someone's actions."

"I… I couldn't help with that," Mustang coughed with a wag of his finger while a weird look appeared on Tenri's face. "Besides, even if they have the quality, there's a chance that they couldn't have awakened to this ability of theirs. Therefore, we can't just walk up and ask them, we need to have them in highly tense situations and have them fight use their full strength."

"I could see how we could implement that with the Ra Yellow," Cain answered with his brow narrowed down. "The promotion examinations would be enough stress that would make them fight so that they don't get demoted to the Red Dorms. But the single Red student could pose as a problem. The old saying is once you hit rock bottom, you've got nothing to lose."

"That's not necessarily true," Tenri added with a devilish smirk plastered on her face. "I happened to notice something about that particular red student in her duel, even though her opponent was the new professor and I think he might've thrown that duel.

"And that's another thing that's worth talking about – What are we going to do about that professor?"

Mustang and Cain looked towards each other before Mustang sighed loudly, "He's certainly an interesting character on this island. I don't know if he capable of joining our little group, but we can still keep an eye on him…

"And even if he's not that kind of special we're looking for, I think I can find a use for him."

"You just love using people," Cain muttered out loud with a dulled look in his eyes. "Don't you?"

"I prefer the term 'auspicious'," Mustang retorted with a cough.

"Nice five dollar vocabulary, you hack," Cain growled.

"At least not every other sentence I speak has an insult laced into it," Mustang countered holding up his fork towards Cain.

Tenri sighed as the two Obelisk Blues continued to sling insults and counters with each other. '_They're acting like a monkey and a dog.'_

Cain stood up from his seat, his brow narrowed, "Whatever. Do what you want, I'm outta here. Maybe I can salvage my weekend."

The short duelist quickly made his way towards the door, and immediately opened the door quickly…

WHAM!

"GARH!"

Cain winced when he heard that yelp, "Damn it… I hit someone."

"Smooth," Tenri giggled as Cain looked around the door to see who he had struck while opening said door.

"Are you okay Prof?"

"Yeesh, what is it with you and doors today?"

"I-It's not like I w-w-want to get in the face by doors!"

Cain slowly turned his head back from the corner of the door, in an attempt to hide himself from getting in trouble. However, there was a fatal flaw in Cain's plan – The door was made of glass.

'_Damn it!'_ Cain thought to himself as he realized that his attempt was in vain.

"Uh, y-you're Cain S-S-Sonryu, right?" Price muttered as he got to his feet, his hand still held close to his nose.

"Its Sonryu," Cain growled as he walked from the door, his hands on his waist. "If you're going to address me, address me by my…"

"Blah, blah, blah," Machi growled as she slammed her hand into Cain's shoulder, which sent the tiny white haired duelist back into the partitioned area. "Move out of the way short stack, we don't have time for a two bit, ripped off comedy act! Price! York! Hurry up!"

Both York and Price blinked a few times before they followed the short professor to another section of the oasis.

With his face planted on the ground, Cain grumbled loudly while Mustang and Tenri looked over the white haired shorty dwelling in his petty anger. Tenri snickered slightly, not bothering to try to hide her laughter. "Wow, a shorty pushing away another shorty. That must be quite the blow to your pride."

"Say another word," Cain growled loudly, not lifting his head up. "And I'll make the walls here as red as your hair!"

"Oooh, so scary," Tenri yelped as she quickly jumped from her seat and sat next to Mustang. "Protect me, Mustang!"

Mustang rolled his eyes. "Never a dull moment."

Back with the two red professors and student…

"Alright, here we are," Machi sighed as she gestured towards another glassed off room in the oasis. It wasn't hard to see that there was someone seated inside the room, but with the large stack of books that was on the table that surrounded the person, it was hard to make out who was there.

Without a second to waste, Machi opened the door with a smirk on her face, "Hey Pamela! I brought the two like you requested."

"Ah, thank you so much Machi!" A silky and sweet voice sounded in the glassed off partition, making Price blink a few times.

Almost as if she phased into mid-air, the owner of that silky voice stepped out from behind that mountain of books, revealing a rather ravishing young woman with skin that seemed to be as flawless as porcelain with long ash colored hair that almost touched the ground as she walked from the books. She was dressed in a velvet dress that hugged her slim and tall figure, and she had a very baggy blue jacket that was obviously made for someone of the other gender and several sizes larger than her. In her ash colored hair were several purple ribbons that were laced with gold.

If Price could describe this woman, he would compare her to a doll.

"Wow, so he's the new professor?" the doll-like woman questioned as she sauntered up to Price, making him stagger back slightly when she had her deep blue eyes look directly into his eyes. "Hmm…"

"Uh, i-is there something o-on my face?" Price questioned as his face went a little red from the mysterious woman getting so close to him in a matter of seconds.

"Hmm, you've been hit twice in the face today, weren't you?" the doll-like woman giggled, making Price's face turn a little redder.

"W-Wha… How did y-you…?" Price questioned as the doll-like woman pulled away from Price.

"Alright, that's enough of freaking out the newbie," Machi sighed as she closed the door behind the three red clad people. With a cough, Machi walked to alongside of the smiling doll-like woman. "Now, for introductions, Price, York, this is the Obelisk Blue Professor and Obelisk Blue Girl's Dorm Headmistress – Pamela Lavivista."

"How do you pronounce that last name again?" York questioned with a few question marks that popped over the top of her head.

"That doesn't matter at the moment," Machi growled with her arms crossed. "She's also the head professor of our history division, which also includes the class that I was referring to earlier – The Duel and Myth History class."

"Yeppers!" Pamela giggled slightly with her cheeks turning rosy red.

"And, y-you needed m-my help with this?" Price asked, his finger aimed at his chest.

"Well, yes and no," Pamela answered with her hand on her cheek. "You see, the class doesn't officially begin until next week, before the class begins, I usually spend the first week explaining to the class what they should expect and how hard the workload is. Normally, a ton of students drop out when I tell them this and they look for another elective to take."

"Yeesh, and this is a class you wanted me to take?" York grumbled with a dull look on her face aimed at Machi.

"Oh, you don't have to worry," Pamela stated with a wave of her hand. "It's only a little bluff that I usually pull to get the students who are only looking for a so called 'easy A'. Normally, this class can be rather calming and invigorating with how I teach."

'_Somehow that doesn't seem right,'_ Price thought to himself with a large bead of sweat rolling down the side of his head.

"In any case, when I tried that same trick this year," Pamela sighed slightly with a cute, if not sad look on her face. "One student actually said some encouraging to all of the students and a lot of them actually decided to stay. I'm a little conflicted here – On one hand, I'm proud that the students have the will to take my class, but on the other hand, I have a lot more students than I usually have."

'_She sounds lazy,'_ Price thought with a roll of his eyes.

"And that's why you're here," Machi explained with her hand pointed towards Price. "You may have done well with your classes so far Price, but you need to learn how to teach classes that have more than twice the number of students you're teaching right now. For the next week, you're going to work with Pamela over here in her class, technically, you'll be her assistant while you'll be learning about how to teach with higher populated classes."

"Uh, b-but what about m-my classes?" Price questioned with a cold sweat popping on the side of his head. "I… I still have to…"

"You'll still be teaching your own classes," Machi explained with a wag of her finger. "Pamela's classes are set during the intervals you don't have classes to teach."

"S-So, I'm going to b-b-be stuck t-teaching the whole day?" Price questioned with tears in the corners of his eyes. "W-without a break?"

"Consider this your hazing period," Pamela explained with warm smile, which only made this all the crueler. "All new professors here at the academy go through this, and its been a while since we've had a new professor, I think the newest one we had was about three years ago and that was… That was… Hey, Machi-kouhai, who was that again?"

"It was the Ra Yellow Headmistress," Machi sighed as she crossed her arms.

"Oh! That's right!" Pamela laughed sheepishly.

"In any case," Machi continued holding a hand up to York. "You, you're going to be attending this class starting on Monday, and you better show up."

"Yes, ma'am!" York replied with a heavy nod.

"And you," Machi growled, making Price jump slightly. "You're going to stay here with Pamela-senpai while she explains the class to you and runs you through the basics. You got that?"

"Uh, s-sure, I guess?" Price mumbled as he rubbed the back of his head. '_I'm sure something like this won't take too long…'_

**TTTTTTT**

_Time: 10:21 p.m._

Boy, was Price wrong.

While Pamela acted nice and charming, she was actually really interested in what she taught – Almost to the point of it being an obsession! And it showed! For the past eight or so hours, Pamela had not only explained what the class was about, but also had gone into detail on the subject matter that Price would have to know in order to answer any students' questions.

Normally, that would only take a couple of hours at most…

Wrong, WRONG!

This was a more complex class than what Price had originally thought, so many theories, so many artifacts, and so many other little tidbits that he had to study in order to prepare for the class… Ugh, and before the young professor knew it, he had spent a good portion of his Saturday afternoon and evening trying to drill those facts into his head.

So, here he was, walking back to the red dorms on the night covered island, slowly trudging along as he tried to keep himself awake. It didn't help that Price had an armful of books that were draining him of any physical or mental energy that he had left in his system.

The best way to describe Price as he was right now, was as if he were a zombie, what with all of his groans and moans as he trudged over the island slowly. Each step was dragged out and scraped against the dirt. "Ugh... So much information… I feel like my head's about to explode…"

It didn't help that at very moment, there was a large root sticking out from the ground right in front of the young red professor. Dark plus professor with bad luck plus a large amount of books equals…

"AH!"

A yelp echoed through the night's air followed by the sound of countless small whaps smacking against a certain unlucky professor's head. "Ow…" For a few moments, Price just laid there amongst the books, his body completely unmoving – whether it was due to the mental and physical exhaustion that he had to deal with, or if he had been knocked out from all the blunt attacks to his head.

However, eventually Price lifted his head up and sighed loudly as he looked forward into the darkness. "Oh the life I live is… Ugh, I can't pull off that line."

That's when Price noticed something. About a handful of yards away, there was someone walking on the grassy plains of the academy island. Because of the lack of light however, Price couldn't tell who it was…

Slowly, Price began to get to his feet and lurched forward, trying to keep himself hidden from whoever was walking on the school grounds. '_If… If it's someone n-not supposed to be on the i-island, then I'll h-have to do s-something.'_

Tensions were getting deeper and deeper with each second that passed, Price kept getting closer and closer to the figure who was steadily sneaking away in the night. There was a chill that ran down Price's spine that grew colder as he got closer and closer to the individual.

Heck, part of him wanted to just leave this be and just go back to his nice warm room and sleep the night away. But it was his duty as a professor to stop any and all threats that could harm his students.

Still, Price had to think about his own safety, so while he was getting closer, he did keep a fair amount of distance between him and this mysterious late night prowler.

Eventually, Price managed to follow the mysterious figure into the woods, which gave him a lot more cover for him to hide behind and watch the mysterious person. '_Is… Is there anything o-out here?'_

Indeed there was, cause the moment that Price thought that he had stepped behind a tree that was right next to a large clearing, and right in the middle of the clearing was a large run down building that was surrounded by a ruined metal fence. With the moon hanging overhead and the dark woods surrounding this decrepit building the entire area seemed to radiating a creepiness factor that broke the charts. '_What the? I didn't know that there was a building out here… It… It kinda looks like a dorm. D-Did we have a fourth…'_

"What are you doing?"

"AAAAAHH!" Price screamed as he leapt from his hiding place and fell face first into the ground once more. "Ow… What's with pain and my face today?"

"Yeesh, what are you supposed to be? A stalker?"

"H-Huh?" Price questioned as he pushed himself off of the ground, only to come face to face with the very same dark figure he was chasing after only minutes ago. "Ah…"

"And from the looks of your jacket," the shadowed figure sighed loudly. "You're a professor here. How disgraceful, a teacher chasing after a student late at night…"

'_S-Student?'_ Price thought as he jumped to his feet, realizing that he was actually taller then the shadowed figure. "You're… A-A student?"

"Is that not obvious?" The figure replied as the moonlight began to gleam over this figure…

The light itself revealed a young woman who stood before Price, she had long chestnut colored hair that brushed her shoulders and added a tint of refinement to her beautiful young face. She had a slim figure that was covered with an altered Obelisk Blue girl's uniform – A longer blue skirt that brushed to top of her knees, a white top with blue trim and light blue frills at the shoulders. She was also wearing a black choker around her neck along with black stockings.

Currently, her large green eyes were narrowed down at Price, an intent to kill gleaming from them. "I've never seen you on this island before… Are you trying to sneak onto the island under the guise of a professor?"

"W-What?" Price yelped as he waved his hands. "N-No! I'm l-l-legit! I'm the n-n-new Osiris R-Red professor…"

"Rowen Price," The girl sighed with her eyes turning dull. "Yeah, when I heard you speak, I had a feeling that you were that stuttering professor that the first years were talking about."

"B-But you said you never s-saw me before," Price pointed out with a bead of sweat rolling down the side of his head.

"Right, until this moment I haven't," the girl answered back. "I'm a second year Obelisk Blue student, there'd hardly be a class in which I'd have you as a professor. This is the first time I've ever seen you, but rumors do fly around school hallways quickly."

"Oh… I… I see," Price muttered as he rubbed the back of his head. And that's when realization struck just like lightning, making Price's stiffen his look at the girl. "And… Ah, w-who are y-you?"

"… You know it's more appropriate to introduce yourself to a lady first before asking for her name," the girl scoffed.

"B-But, you a-already know my name," Price answered, the bead of sweat growing larger on the side of his head. "Y-You're the one who s-s-said it."

"Fine, I suppose you have a point," The girl sighed as she ran a hand through her hair, pushing it to the side. "I am Lillian Rosencrantz."

"R-Rosencrantz?" Price muttered as he tapped his chin a few times. "I know I h-h-heard that name b-before, but…"

"Look, I hate to be rude," Lillian scoffed to the side, closing her eyes in the process. "But I am in a hurry, and to be frank, you're starting to send chills down my spine with the way you talk."

"But, it's l-late," Price mumbled. "D-Don't students h-have to be back in t-their dorms at this t-t-time?"

"The rules say we have to be at a dorm," Lillian answered back with a loud sigh. "I was just about to enter this one right here."

"T-This is a dorm?" Price questioned turning back to look at the large building. It was true that Price's original thoughts that the building did resemble a dorm, but it looked to be run down. "I… I don't think t-that you…"

"It doesn't matter," Lillian replied as she began to walk past Price and headed toward the ruined dorm. "If we're done here, then I'd like to continue with my night. Have a good night, Professor."

"H-Hey! W-Wait a second!" Price yelped as he held his hand up towards the young blue student, but she just kept on walking away from Price. "It… It might b-be dangerous! And w-w-while I may n-not be a t-teacher, I am s-still a p-professor! Its m-my responsibility to m-make sure that all students are k-kept safe and…"

Lillian sighed loudly as she stopped walking. "Fine, I get your point. Very well, I will head back to my dorm. Will that make you happy?"

"Uh, I guess so?" Price replied, getting pushed to the side as Lillian began to walk back towards the woods. "Uh, w-would you like m-me to walk you back to…"

"I don't need a babysitter, thank you very much," Lillian scoffed as she began to walk towards the forested area once more.

Price sighed loudly as he lowered his head, '_Even w-when the students do l-listen to me, I get n-nothing but grief…'_

When Price raised his head to look at Lillian, he blinked a few times as he watched her walk away… Although, to be correct, it wasn't Lillian that Price was looking at. Rather it was the tall, ghostly figure that seemed to gaze upon Lillian. Price's eyes widened at the ghostly figure, and then realized that the figure was looking directly at Price, its red eyes looming at him, and yet, it seemed to have kindness seeping from those piercing eyes.

'_Wh… What in the world?'_ Price thought to himself as he watched as both Lillian and the ghostly figure disappear into the woods.

That's when something struck Price… Again!

"GAH! T-THE BOOKS! I-I-I LEFT THEM IN THE WOODS!"

**TTTTTT**

_Time: Sunday, 11:32 a.m._

_Location: Osiris Red Dorm Lounge_

It took quite a while for Price to actually find those books last night (and then get back to the dorm was no easy feet at eleven at night), and when he got back to his room, Price had just crashed down onto his bed, immediately going to sleep in his clothes.

It wasn't until ten a.m. when he woke up and finally managed to make something out of his day, which was unfortunately to look over those books that Pamela had forced upon him.

But he had other things on his mind, so having one of the books held over his head, Price sighed loudly. '_W-What did I see last night? What w-was that s-shadow that was behind t-that girl? A-And what was s-she doing out there at that time?'_

Closing the book, Price grimaced slightly. "I can't work like this…"

The lounge around him was devoid of anyone else, most of the students were either hanging out with each other, checking out the methods of entertainment that the academy provided for it's students – Arcades, a small makeshift movie theatre, or even the store which offered more than just card related wares for the students to enjoy.

So, that just practically left Price to his own devices while in the dorm's lounge, its not like it was a bad thing, its just that reading alone in this big room just made Price a little bit lonelier than usual. It didn't help that his mind was more focused on what had happened last night.

Meanwhile, outside the lounge…

"So, why am I here?" Cain asked as he leaned up against the wall next to the lounge's entrance.

"Cause if you weren't, then you'd be stuck sleeping in all day," Mustang replied as he wagged a finger at Cain. "Besides, you wanted to know what I was going to with that new professor, and this is how I should tell you – First hand and in person!"

"I swear, this is messed up somehow," Cain grumbled under his breath. "In any case, let's just get this over with. Unlike you, I actually have to study to keep my position."

"You just can't stand that I've got higher marks and a higher rank than you," Mustang laughed loudly as he began to reach for the door. "Jealous much?"

"What the hell would make you think that I would be jealous of you about anything?" Cain snarled.

"Let's see," Mustang muttered as he pulled his hand away from the door and brought it up to his chin, to show that he was in mock thought. "My height, the fact that the ladies like me, my handsome face, I'm taller than you, I happen to be at the top while you're way down below, I've got a natural hair color, I'm au-natural, I get straight A's easily, I was the one who got you those special cards of yours, I've got about a foot and a half of height compared to you, and I'm the leader of our little group."

"… You bastard," Cain growled loudly as a fiery aura erupted over his body. "You took at least three shots at my height in that last run-on sentence!"

"At least you've got the hearing of a wolf," Mustang chuckled with a large smirk on his face.

"AND THE TEMPER OF ONE TOO!" Cain roared as he leapt through the air, preparing to tackle into Mustang…

However, the moment that Cain was about to slam into Mustang, the door to the lounge opened up and slammed right into Cain's face. "URK!"

Mustang laughed loudly as he watched Cain slink to the ground with his legs twitching slightly. "BWAHAHAHA! I guess we could say I'm also luckier Cain!"

"Snuf up, you basfard!" Cain moaned loudly as he rolled away from the door, his nose red and dripping with some blood from the nostrils. "Don'f jusf sfand tnere! Get me a towel!"

"Oh no! Oh no! Oh no!"

Both Mustang and Cain looked up at the door, both surprised to see Price standing at the door's frame, a look of shear terror plastered all over his face.

Ten minutes and one first aid kit later…

"Humph," Cain grumbled out loud, trying to ignore the bandage he had around nose, as well as the burning sensation that was in the same area.

"I-I'm so sorry!" Price mumbled with his head lowered down towards Cain. "I-I heard the c-commotion outside a-and…"

"Just drop it," Cain growled turning his head to the side. "Consider us even for what I did yesterday."

"R-Right," Price muttered.

"Still, nothing like an injury to break the ice!" Mustang stated with an innocent smile. "How are you today, Professor Price?"

"Uh, g-good I guess," Price mumbled back, blinking a few times behind his glasses. "And you are Mustang r-right?"

"So good that you remember me," Mustang said with his hands folded in front of his face. "And it's good that you're having a decent day…"

"Oh just cut the crap, Mustang," Cain snarled with his sharp eyes narrowed down behind his hair. "And get to the damn point! Lord knows now even I'm a little curious about what you're planning."

"Way to be subtle there, Cain," Mustang sighed loudly.

"S-So there was s-s-something that I can h-help you with?" Price questioned with his head tilted slightly to the side.

"Actually yes," Mustang replied with a large smirk on his face. "You see, me and Cain here are trying to start something up this year, but unfortunately, to make it official we need the consent of a professor, as well as having a professor mentor over this matter as well. And you're that professor that we'd like to have join us in this."

"H-Huh?" Price questioned with a look of shock on his face. "M-Me? W-Why me?"

"Well, I figured why not?" Mustang answered quickly and bluntly.

Both Price and Cain blinked a few times in confusion at Mustang's bluntness. Cain was quick to recover and narrowed his eyes down at Mustang, "You lousy… That's all you wanted to ask! You want him to be a sponsor for our…"

"Our club," Mustang interrupted with a smile on his face. "Yes, you see Professor Price, at the end of the week, the Duel Academia Clubs will opening up and accepting new members. However me and the shorty here would like to start up a brand new club, and frankly, we thought it would be a good way for you to meet the students and humanize yourself with them."

Price pushed up his glasses and nodded slightly, Mustang did have a point – And operating a club might have its benefits…

"W-Well, w-what kind of c-club are you t-trying to start?" Price questioned.

"A journalism club," Mustang answered promptly, his smile growing slightly warmer as he explained. "Or to a broader point, a newspaper club – I'd assume that we'd probably have a weekly paper delivered to the students and such."

Price was silent for a few minutes as he closed his eyes, his mind had dived deep into thought. "Hmm…"

Cain rolled his eyes, '_He's not going to go for it…'_

"A-Alright," Price muttered out loud.

"Really?" Mustang stated, almost as if he wasn't expecting a positive answer.

'_Damn it,'_ Cain muttered in his head.

"B-But," Price coughed out. "I… I need to ask s-s-something in return."

"It's not a problem," Mustang replied with a warm smile on his face. "Name your price… Professor Price."

"I'd h-have to be b-b-blind not t-to see that y-you two are in Obelisk Blue," Price stated as he placed his hands on the table they were seated at. "Do… Do either of y-you know of a Lillian R-Rosencrantz?"

That seemed to elicit a rather surprising response from both Mustang and Cain, both of them with their eyes widened and both of them looking at each other. Price was about to say something when…

"Could you give us a moment?" Mustang requested as he grabbed Cain by the arm and pulled the shorter to one of the corners of the lounge.

"URK!" Cain yelped as he was dragged.

Price blinked a few times as he watched the two blues crowd around in the corner.

"Rosencrantz!" Cain whispered with his eyes narrowed at Mustang. "Does he know?"

"Relax, it could just be coincidence," Mustang answered back, although the nervousness in his eyes was as plain as the nose on his face.

"But she's one of the students we've had our eyes on!" Cain snarled under his breath. "If we continue this then…"

"Let's just hear him out," Mustang replied with his hands held up. "I'm sure its' nothing that we need to concern ourselves with. Teachers ask about students all the time."

"Fine," Cain grumbled under his breath. "Do what you want…"

A few moments later, Cain and Mustang were back at the table where Price was seated, trying to ignore the weird look that Price was giving them. "Uh… W-What was that a-a-about?"

"Nothing at all," Mustang replied with a shrug of his shoulders. "It's a blue thing. In any case, what can we help you with concerning Miss Rosencrantz?"

Price then spoke of how he found Lillian Rosencrantz last night and how she went to the decrypted dorm last night – Talked about her attitude and such. However, Price left out that ghostly image that he saw, heck if he did, he might have the two blues distance themselves from him. "… And that's it."

"A run down dorm?" Mustang questioned with his eyes closed. "You must be referring to the Abandoned Dorm."

"It used to be an alternate Blue Dormitory," Cain explained waving his hand. "You see, before Mustang and I came to the academy, this dorm was made to accommodate a large amount of Obelisk Students since back then there were a lot of potential students. However…"

"However?" Price questioned.

"One night," Mustang continued with a sly smirk on his face. "A student from that dorm disappeared. And not just any student, it was the school's second best student, one Tenjoin Fubuki. Many people just thought that the guy pulled one of his usual disappearing acts, but over time, more and more students who were in that dorm disappeared. In order to prevent panic, the chancellor at the time created a cover story that stated that all of the students in the dorm were a part of some duel research program abroad."

"T-That's rather… Odd," Price admitted with his head tilted slightly. "W-What happened to the students?"

"I dunno," Mustang answered with a shrug of his shoulders. "This kinda happened about twenty years ago, way before the shorty or I were born into this world."

"HEY!" Cain snapped.

"But, what I do know is this," Mustang continued, ignoring Cain's protest. "Three years after that incident, the dorm was supposedly destroyed by some unknown force, and there's even a file about this in the academy's records."

"W-Wait, but the dorm I s-s-saw may have b-been ragged," Price answered holding his hand up. "But it was s-s-still standing."

"I know," Mustang replied with his hands folded. "And there have been no records of the dorm ever being commissioned to be rebuilt by anyone."

"A-Alright, I… I think t-that's enough," Price coughed a small bead of sweat appearing on the side of his face. "L-Let's get b-back to my original q-question – Why w-would Miss R-Rosencrantz be at that dorm late at night?"

"Hell if we'd know," Cain answered bluntly, earning him a look from both Mustang and Price. "What? Just because we're in the same uniform color, doesn't mean we know every other single blue student. Besides, what do you care? She's a blue student and you're an Osiris Red Professor, if you've got any concerns with her, you should bring them up with Professor Hund or even better Professor Pamela."

"Y-Yes…" Price answered with his head lowered. "B-But I'm a p-professor t-too! S-She may be in a d-d-different dorm than w-what I'm assigned to, b-but that doesn't mean I can't…"

"Say no more," Mustang interrupted with his hand lifted up towards Price. "I admire that kind of determination of yours Professor Price… And that's why we're going to help you with this matter!"

"W-What?" Price questioned.

"We're what?" Cain growled with his eyes narrowed in at Mustang.

"But, in return for our help with this matter," Mustang chuckled as he held his hand out to Price. "You're going to have to become our sponsoring professor for our journalism club, deal?"

"Y-Yes!" Price answered as he took Mustang's hand and shook it.

"Screw this," Cain growled as he stood up. "I've got better things to do with my Sunday than listening to this crap… Or to help in this matter, it doesn't mean a thing to me."

"Cain, if you help me with this," Mustang coughed as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. "I will personally delete Ami's phone number from my cell, and I'll do it right in front of you."

Cain's ears twitched when he heard that, and just like that he sat back down with a loud sigh. "Fine. What's the plan?"

"Uh, h-how did he agree s-so quickly?" Price asked with a few question marks popping over his head.

"I'm talking about deleting his sister's name and number from my phone," Mustang answered as he began to push a few buttons on his cell phone. "He doesn't really appreciate the fact that she gave it to me…"

"I'd rather lose my left arm then let this sleaze-ball get close to my younger sister," Cain snarled loudly.

"You wound me," Mustang replied as he placed a hand over his heart in mock. "In any case, we may not know the reason for why Miss Rosencrantz was at the abandoned dorm, but I'm pretty sure I can find someone who would. Heck, after all, Duel Academia is a high school, someone's bound to know something, I just need to call in a few favors… In the meantime, it's around noon, what's say we eat some lunch? I haven't had Red Food in over two years!"

"You used to be a red student?" Cain questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"I worked my ass off in my first year," Mustang answered with a large smirk on his face. "In any case, let's kill some time shall we?"

And time was slain, the two students and professor had gotten themselves some of the food that was being served in the vending machines at the lounge (it was a lot quicker than going to the cafeteria), and were munching on what they had gotten for a few minutes…

Until Mustang's cell phone began to buzz on the table.

Immediately, the blue student lifted up his phone and looked at the small device, "Ah, looks like I've finally got a response to my question."

"You make it sound like it took hours," Cain grumbled with a roll of his eyes. "It was only twenty minutes. And what kind of contacts do you…"

"Don't think too much on it," Mustang answered with a shrug. "Otherwise your head will explode."

"A-Actually, w-who d-did you c-c-contact?" Price questioned as well, putting his apple to the side.

"I've got a few guys and gals in my corner pocket," Mustang chuckled with a wave of his phone. "In any case, my source says Miss Rosencrantz has actually pulled a few late night ventures over the last few weeks, ever since classes came into session. Apparently, a few other Obelisk Blue girls have seen her going out at late night."

"Isn't t-there a curfew?" Price asked with a tilt of his head.

"Yeah, but a second year student would know how to get by without being caught," Cain answered. "All one has to really do is watch how the island security do their rounds. Once you've got that down pat, then you're good. Of course, I'm making it sound easier than it really sounds, since the guards often have different shifts and rounds depending on the day."

"… H-How do you k-know this?" Price stated with a flat tone in his voice.

"The little guy right here used to sneak out of his dorm at night," Mustang answered quickly, earning himself a nasty glare from the white haired shorty next to him. "God knows why, but damn he was persistent in his nightly quests…"

"Shut your face before I slam it shut with my fist!" Cain snarled loudly as he jumped onto his seat and raised his fist up towards Mustang.

"Seems I struck a nerve," Mustang chuckled with a shrug of his shoulders. "In any case, we have other matters to attend to. Since we know that Miss Rosencrantz is going out late at night, and if we assume that she goes to the abandoned dorm, then perhaps she might try going to the same place again.

"After all, it could be a safe bet that since Professor Price here probably prevented Miss Rosencrantz from accomplishing whatever she was trying for last night, so maybe she'll try the same thing tonight."

"T-Then we s-should s-stop h-her immediately!" Price stated as he stood up from his seat. "We…"

"I would suggest you calm down Price," Mustang answered with a wag of his finger. "Even if we were to confront her at this time, she'd probably just deny anything we say."

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Cain muttered under his breath.

"S-So, w-what's your plan?" Price asked as he pushed up his glasses.

Mustang smirked wildly as he spun the phone in his hand.

**TTTTTTT**

_Time: 11:35 p.m._

_Location: Woods surrounding the Abandoned Dorm_

"Damn it Mustang!" Cain snarled through his clattering teeth as he stood amongst the bushes with two other familiar figures. "Some plan!"

"W-What's wrong w-with him?" Price questioned, rubbing his arms with his hands.

"I'm standing in a bush with an idiot and a stuttering professor," Cain retorted gleaming daggers into Price's head. "It's close to midnight, and instead of being in my warm, comfy bed, I'm stuck outside in the woods next to that creepy building!"

"Meh, don't worry about the white haired chinchilla," Mustang answered back as he lifted up a small camera in his hands. "He just gets cranky when he's cold, and unfortunately the little guy gets cold quick."

"You lousy…" Cain growled.

"Uh, M-M-Mustang," Price interrupted, trying to make sure a fight didn't break out amongst the two blues. "C-Could you try e-e-explaining this p-plan again?"

"It's simple really," Mustang answered with a smirk as he held up the camera. "All we need to do is wait out Miss Rosencrantz, we wait for her, take her picture when she comes, confront her and blackmail her in telling us about why she's coming out here while at the same time making sure that she doesn't pull this same stunt again, otherwise we'll give the photo to security."

There was a moment of silence between the three as an ominous wind began to blow around the trio. After that moment of silence, a large blood vessel appeared on the side of Cain's head with his eyes began to glow red with murderous intent, "Mustang… That's the stupidest idea I've ever heard!"

"How exactly is it stupid?" Mustang countered with his gaze now glazed at Cain.

"First off, you came up with the plan," Cain counted off with his hand. "That automatically makes it a bad plan. Secondly, we're doing this based off of an assumption that you came up with, so that's a bad reason. Thirdly, its night, its Sunday night, I have class in the morning, and we're spending all our time right here, so, in summation, you are a fri…"

Before Cain could continue, a hand clasped over his mouth, muffling his insult. Surprisingly, the hand was from none other than Price, his eyes looking dead serious with his glasses now removed. Slowly, Price turned his head back towards the abandoned dorm and lifted his free hand up towards the building. "Shush… Look over there…"

Cain's eyes followed Price's aim, seeing that in front of the abandoned dormitory was a slim figure with long, wavy hair. The figure looked around the area a few times before slowly they began to head into the building.

"Mustang… Take the picture now," Price muttered under his voice.

Mustang only nodded as he lifted the camera up and immediately pressed the button, the flash went off and illuminated a good portion of the area, catching the attention of the figure in front of the abandoned dormitory. For a few seconds the figure looked upon the three that were in the bushes, but before the trio could get from the bushes, the figure ran into the Abandoned Dorm, immediately escaping from sight.

"What the?" Cain questioned as the three walked from the bushes. "She ran… You ever consider that in your plan Mustang?"

"Yes, and I have a solution," Mustang answered as he tightened his grip on the camera. "Let's get after her!"

Price didn't say a word as he and Mustang dashed off towards the abandoned dorm, leaving Cain standing in front of the bushes with a dismal look on his face. "I could just walk away, I could still get about seven hours of sleep if I leave right now…"

Cain sighed loudly as he slowly walked towards the building, "Aw who the heck am I kidding?"

**TTTTT**

_Location: Abandoned Dorm, Main Lobby_

As Price and Mustang entered into the dorm, Price had to stop, the place on the inside looked to be even worse off than outside. Damaged floors, wrecked walls, and there was a hole in the ceiling that allowed the moonlight from above to pour into the building. The place while old and run down did seem to have been well furnished at one point in time, there was even a midnight blue carpet that ran from the door towards the stairs and the multiple hallways.

In all honesty, the building looked to be only a few moments away from being torn down. '_This place, for some reason it feels like its trying to suffocate me… Must be all the dust…'_

"Alright, now, which way did she go?" Mustang mused as he slowly walked forward, his eyes positioned at the hallways and stairs in front of him. "Damn it…"

"Stop for a second," Price stated as he reached into his overcoat, producing a small flashlight. "I must say, this must've been the impressive dorm before it became so run down…"

Price turned on the flashlight and slowly knelt down on the floor to have the flashlight peer on the carpeting. "This carpet must've been a fine brand, but even time can be harsh with it, with the weather conditions and dust it's been dealing with over the years, its almost a fake grass… You can barely see them, but there are footsteps being indented into the old carpeting."

Mustang looked over Price's shoulder and looked at where the flashlight was shining upon, and the professor was right – There were foot prints, some of them older and others fresher. "As you can see, if you follow the footsteps that have a deeper heel imprint into it, and assuming that Miss Rosencrantz would wear the standard issued girls' boots which have a higher heel to them, then its not too hard to assume that these footsteps are her's, in which case…"

With the flashlight running over the footprints, Price pointed towards one of the hallway entrances not too far away. "She must have went that way."

"Damn," Cain stated as he walked up behind the two, his own flashlight in his hands. "I have to say, I'm impressed. I didn't think you'd be able to do something like that."

"Ah, shorty," Mustang chuckled as he held his arms up slightly. "I thought you'd be long gone by now…"

Although he had an enraged look on his face, Cain turned his head to the side, "Someone had to make sure you two dolts didn't get yourselves killed in here. Frankly, Price is a new professor and he wouldn't know any better, and you Mustang you're… Well, you're Mustang. Enough said."

"Aw, didn't know you cared," Mustang retorted.

"Shut up," Cain growled.

"You two certainly have an interesting friendship," Price pointed out as he brought the flashlight down on the footprints. "Just like these footprints."

"What?" Mustang questioned looking at the footprints. "What do you mean?"

"There are two different sets of footprints," Price pointed out as he gesturing towards one footprint. "The person who came in right before us ran in, correct?"

"Yeah, so?" Cain asked shining his light on the same footprints.

"Well, it's all in stride," Price replied as he stood up. "A walking stride has the footprints closer together, but a running stride has them farther apart. Besides, take note that the footprints to the right seem similar to this…"

Price stomped his foot next to one of the footprints in question and immediately pulled his foot back to reveal that his footprint was almost as large as the one he was comparing to. "So, unless Miss Rosencrantz wears size twelve sneakers, then there's someone else here… The person we saw run into here."

"But wasn't that Rosencrantz?" Cain questioned raising an eyebrow. "We were staking out that place for about thirty minutes and…"

"Actually, there's a way to tell if it was Miss Rosencrantz or not," Price answered as he held his hand up to Mustang. "Mustang, is your camera digital?"

"Way ahead of ya," Mustang replied as he held up his camera and pressed a few buttons. "This bad boy should've gotten a good picture of whoever we saw, and… Here we go! Gather round, children!"

With beads of sweat appearing on the back of their heads, Price and Cain looked at the picture displayed on the camera's screen. The picture was a little blurry, but it was enough to see that whoever was on the picture, it certainly wasn't Lillian Rosencrantz. Instead, the figure in the picture was an older gentleman with long hair, dressed in what appeared to be a hat and a cloak of sorts. He certainly was slim though and had wavy hair from his hat.

"What the hell?" Cain exclaimed. "How the hell did we mistake a slim girl for this bozo? Is Rosencrantz even in here?"

"She is," Price answered as he turned back to the footsteps. "I can only assume that she came here before we began our stake out, that's evidenced by the latest footsteps. And since there aren't any fresh footprints that lead to the door out of here, we can assume that she's still in the building somewhere."

"… So we waited out in the cold of night for thirty minutes for nothing?" Cain asked with his left eye twitching slightly. "DAMN IT!"

"In any case, Miss Rosencrantz might be in danger," Mustang stated with a nod of his head. "This guy right here is quite strange, we don't know who he is or what he's here for and…"

Mustang would've continued however, he was interrupted by a loud scream that echoed throughout the entire abandoned dorm, making the trio jump slightly before they turned towards the hallway where the footsteps were leading. The scream itself was high pitched and obviously belonged to a young woman of sorts.

"Well," Price stated as the three men ran towards the hallway. "If we didn't think Miss Rosencrantz was here before, we now know for sure!

"Hurry!"

_To be continued in the second half of this chapter…_


	6. Draw 5B: Blues, Abandoned Dorm, Spirits

_**Draw 5B**_

_**Blues, Abandoned Dorm, and Spirits**_

**TTTTT**

"_Actually, there's a way to tell if it was Miss Rosencrantz or not," Price answered as he held his hand up to Mustang. "Mustang, is your camera digital?"_

"_Way ahead of ya," Mustang replied as he held up his camera and pressed a few buttons. "This bad boy should've gotten a good picture of whoever we saw, and… Here we go! Gather round, children!"_

_With beads of sweat appearing on the back of their heads, Price and Cain looked at the picture displayed on the camera's screen. The picture was a little blurry, but it was enough to see that whoever was on the picture, it certainly wasn't Lillian Rosencrantz. Instead, the figure in the picture was an older gentleman with long hair, dressed in what appeared to be a hat and a cloak of sorts. He certainly was slim though and had wavy hair from his hat._

"_What the hell?" Cain exclaimed. "How the hell did we mistake a slim girl for this bozo? Is Rosencrantz even in here?"_

"_She is," Price answered as he turned back to the footsteps. "I can only assume that she came here before we began our stake out, that's evidenced by the latest footsteps. And since there aren't any fresh footprints that lead to the door out of here, we can assume that she's still in the building somewhere."_

"… _So we waited out in the cold of night for thirty minutes for nothing?" Cain asked with his left eye twitching slightly. "DAMN IT!"_

"_In any case, Miss Rosencrantz might be in danger," Mustang stated with a nod of his head. "This guy right here is quite strange, we don't know who he is or what he's here for and…"_

_Mustang would've continued however, he was interrupted by a loud scream that echoed throughout the entire abandoned dorm, making the trio jump slightly before they turned towards the hallway where the footsteps were leading. The scream itself was high pitched and obviously belonged to a young woman of sorts._

"_Well," Price stated as the three men ran towards the hallway. "If we didn't think Miss Rosencrantz was here before, we now know for sure!_

"_Hurry!"_

**Thirty Minutes Earlier…**

_Location: Abandoned Dorm, Basement_

Around the time Price, Cain and Mustang were starting to camp out in the bushes of the Abandoned Dorm, a familiar brown haired young woman walked into the basement area – A large backpack slung over her shoulder as she walked into the large circular basement.

The structure itself was built in sections with several pillars with old broken tablets lining the walls while on the ground was a large circle that seemed to be drawn with some weird white paint, although the paint seemed to have flaked away. Lillian sighed loudly as she slid the backpack onto the ground and smiled to herself. '_I may have been sidetracked last night with that weird professor, but tonight is the night, tonight I can finally awaken you!'_

Opening the bag, Lillian pulled out a large brush, a mysterious container, and a large book that had seen better days. Placing the brush and container to the side, Lillian lifted up the book to a page that was marked with a fancy red bookmark. "After so long, I can finally bring you to this world…"

Immediately, Lillian pulled the book closer to her and embraced it in her arms. As the young Obelisk Blue student pressed the book close to her body, a ghostly image began to materialize behind her. This ghostly figure towered over Lillian with its warm orange eyes, its long crimson cape billowing from the figure's adorned shoulders – One was a jackal while the other was a bird of sorts. The mysterious shadow's head was adorned with a gold and blue Egyptian headdress that topped his golden masked face.

Lillian slowly turned around, a warm look appearing in her eyes as she gazed upon the mysterious shadow, "Soon… Soon I will finally know your embrace. I can finally thank you for all that you've done for me…"

The ghostly man tried to speak, but when his lips move, no sound emerged.

That didn't deter Lillian from stepping closer towards the ghostly man, a warm look in her eyes, "I know, but please be patient. Soon, very soon, I'll be able to bring you into this world of ours…"

Spinning on her heel, Lillian began to walk towards the other materials she had brought that evening with her, and began to get onto her work. The ghostly man sighed silently and shook his head as she opened up the container to reveal that there was a large amount of white paint-like liquid in it.

With a delicate dip of the paint brush, Lillian began to go around the floor, painting in the exact same area of the worn out circle. As the brush ran across the ground, the white paint-like substance seemed to glow brightly as it sunk into the floor.

**TTTT-Twenty Minutes or So Later…-TTTT**

A smile appeared on Lillian's face as she finished her drawing on the floor before her, the entire room basked in a bright, beautiful light that emanated from the ground itself. "And it's ready. I swear, I've done this so many times that this design is burned into my very brain… But it's a small price to pay for me to bring you here…"

Throwing the book away from the circle, Lillian slowly began to walk towards the center of the glowing runic circle. Her steps were calm and slow, careful not to step on the paint she had just painted on the ground, eventually Lillian reached the center of the runic circle and lifted her arms up into the air. With a deep breath, Lillian's body began to glow the same color as the runic circle, and as she began to lower her arms, Lillian spoke calmly and slowly, "_O__omnipotens__rector__harenas__placere__audi__clamorem meum._

"_I__offerat nummum__ipsam animam__, ut __ambularetis__in vita__...__Sic__placet,__excitare__!_

"_Et__spiritum__nouum__aerem__, iterum __frui__!"_

All of a sudden, the white light immediately transformed into a golden light that unleashed several ghostly birds that flew around the entire room. Lillian smiled brightly as she watched the birds circle her form, and it was at that moment that several spirit like jackals to run around the runic circle. '_It's working! It's working! This time for sure!'_

Just as things were looking the brightest, all of the golden ghostly spirits suddenly stopped in their tracks, either on the ground or floating in mid-air. The ghostly images flickered for a few seconds until they changed from brilliant gold to a rich purple, making Lillian raised an eyebrow.

It was then that a loud screech echoed through the basement area, making each and every single ghostly image shatter like glass, the shards falling to the ground around Lillian's body. The young blue student lifted her arms up defensively to protect herself from the weird energy that was dropping onto the ground. "W-What is this…?"

The purple energy began to meld into the ground at Lillian's feet, making her stagger back slightly. Whatever was happening, Lillian didn't want to be here any more, her basic instincts were screaming at her move her legs and get out of there…

Of course, that option was no longer available when a large purple furred, clawed arm erupted from the ground, immediately wrapping itself around Lillian's slim waist. From the purple ooze, two large red eyes appeared and narrowed down on her. "_**Oh… I've been waiting for soooooooooooo long… Let me thank you for freeing me…**_"

Lillian's brow was covered in a cold sweat as the eyes began to rise up attached to a jackal-like head with two long jagged ears with two large curved spikes erupting as well. The jackal licked its teeth as it grew closer and closer towards her, and that's when Lillian couldn't maintain her cool…

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

**TTTTTT**

"Damn it, where the hell did that scream come from?" Cain snarled as he followed both Mustang and Price through the ragged hallways of the Abandoned dorm.

For a good five minutes, the trio had ran through the hallways trying to find the source of the mysterious scream. Of course, running around like men with your heads cut off is never a wise idea, especially in a dark building that's on the verge of collapse. So, when all three of them reached a widened section of the hallway, the trio stopped dead in their tracks.

"This isn't going to get us anywhere," Price muttered out loud as he looked at the area surrounding them. "At this rate we'll get lost before we find Miss Rosencrantz."

"Well, we did just run off when we heard the scream," Mustang pointed out with his hand drawn to his chin. "Say, Professor, you think you can work your investigative magic again and look at the carpeting to see if we're going the right way?"

"I would," Price stated before he flashed the flashlight towards the ground. "But, there's no carpeting left."

"Damn," Mustang grumbled to himself.

While Mustang was cussing under his breath, however, Price noticed that out of the corner of his eye, Price raised an eyebrow as he walked a little further down the hallway.

"Look," Cain growled loudly as he rubbed his forehead. "I don't wanna sound like the bad guy, but maybe we should leave, at least for now."

"What?" Mustang questioned with his gaze narrowed down at Cain. "You want us to just leave Miss Rosencrantz here?"

"Look, I'm not saying to leave her to what dwells here," Cain spat back with his arms raised up defensively. "I say we just head back to the dorms, get Hund and Pamela on this so we can organize a search party. In fact, we should've told them about this in the first place… It would've really saved us a ton of trouble!"

"And I told ya that she would deny it when she would be confronted!" Mustang countered jabbing a finger at Cain's chest. "We needed to get evidence, but things got out of control!"

"Yeah! Just like every other plan that your messed up mind comes up with!" Cain retorted slapping Mustang's hand away. "We didn't even need to be out here! This wasn't our problem! It was Price's… No, scratch that, it wasn't even his!"

"Hey, guys," Price stated with a flat look in his eyes.

"We're from the same dorm as Lillian!" Mustang shot back throwing his arm to the side. "We've got a responsibility to help out members from our dorm!"

"Yeah right!" Cain barked back. "You probably have some alternative motive for this – Considering the fact that its you and considering she's a girl then it doesn't take too much brainpower to figure out that equation!"

"Guys," Price muttered.

"How dare you!" Mustang gasped with his hands drawn to his chest. "My intentions are as noble as a cool crisp stream!"

"That's polluted with crap!" Cain snarled. "What if I told Tenri about this stunt of yours?"

"You lousy, little," Mustang growled back.

"SHUT UP, THE BOTH OF YOU!" Price roared loudly, making both Cain and Mustang jump at the sudden burst of anger that the usually timid professor exhibited.

'_Damn! Where did that come from?'_ Cain thought.

'_Like a one eighty flip,'_ Mustang pondered to himself.

"That's better," Price sighed as he waved his flashlight over to the hallway behind him. "Now, if you two are done bickering like an old married couple, I think you two would find this quite interesting."

Both Cain and Mustang followed the light to a nearby wall that seemed to have a large piece of paper taped to it that had a large red arrow painted on it that pointed down the hallway. Cain had a large bead of sweat rolling down the side of his head when he saw that sign, "What the hell? Where did that come from!"

"Good question," Price muttered, observing the arrow.

"Could it have been that weird guy we saw out front?" Mustang questioned with a perked up eyebrow.

"If it was, why would he do that?" Price retorted, turning his flashlight down the hallway. "And should we follow it?"

"Are you nuts?" Cain stated dully. "We don't know who the hell that guy was or if this is some sort of trap! I say we should just leave and…"

Before Cain could say another word, Price was standing in front of him, and due to the difference in height between them, Price might as well have been a giant in comparison. "You wanna leave? Then leave. I'm not going to stop you, but if you wanna come, keep your trap shut. Either way, stop your whining!"

And with that, Price began to walk down the hallway at a brisk pace, his back slowly disappearing into the darkness, leaving Mustang and Cain to stare blankly at each other. Mustang smirked before he threw his arms behind his head and slowly began to follow Price, "You heard the professor Cain, feel free to leave. And I'll be keeping Ami's number in my cell phone to boot."

A large blood vessel appeared on the side of Cain's head before he followed both Price and Mustang, "FINE! But I wanna state for the record that this is a stupid and dumb idea!"

"Your complaints have been noted," Price stated back. "Now hurry up!"

'_I liked him better when he was only stuttering,'_ Cain thought.

**TTTTTT**

_Time: 12:05 a.m._

_Location: Abandoned Dorm, Basement_

The runic circle that covered the floor wasn't as bright as before, but it still was lighting the room enough to show Lillian standing in the middle of the room, stretching her body and cracking her neck. "Damn it…"

Lillian's voice seemed to be deeper and raspier and her eyes seemed to glow a deep red instead of their usual purple. "I may have been able to finally acquired a body, but this form is just so… So… Small! Ugh, I'm starting to get cramped in here!"

"Humph, I thought you would be happy to finally get a physical body in the human world…"

'Lillian' spun around to see someone else sauntering into the room, from what 'she' could see, whoever it was they were wearing a large dark brown cloak that barely brushed the ground each time he took a step. At the collar of the cloak was a lush fur muffler that wrapped around his sharp chin, while the top of his face was covered with a beautiful, white mask that was topped with a lovely dark brown fedora with a bright red feather that popped out from the side of the fedora.

The man smiled as he stopped walking a few yards from 'Lillian'. "Then again, depending on what you are, that could be different… Monsieur or Ma Cherie?"

"Peh," 'Lillian' spat to the side, as 'she' began to walk towards the masked man. "I could care less about what you call me, all I know is that you've got a bigger body, like moths to a flame you humans can't resist but to draw to me, can't you?"

"I would suggest that you refrain from coming closer, Monsieur," the masked man advised with his calm smirk still plastered over his face. "I would prefer not to hurt the body of a young lass, especially one who is being forced to move."

"Then this will be easy to finish!" 'Lillian' roared as she ran across the runic circle towards the masked man.

With a loud audible sigh, the masked man threw his left arm to the side, sending the cloak upwards to reveal a rather formal business suit covering his slim figure, however, what was more important was that several strips of paper flew from his cloak and surrounded 'Lillian's body. 'Lillian' stopped in her tracks when the strips of paper flew about 'her' body, however, they didn't just float.

After a few moments, sparks of electricity began to surge from the scraps and into 'her' body. 'Lillian's body convulsed as the electricity coursed through 'her', there were no burn marks, but however, a large purple aura surged from 'her' form. The aura climbed higher and higher as it transformed into a large jackal headed, purple furred demon with several Egyptian styled pieces of jewelry around its neck and two large horns erupted from its back. "DAMN IT! YOU… YOU'RE A…"

"Wow," the masked man chuckled as he allowed his cloak to flow back over his body. "You're faster on the take than most other Duel Spirits, usually they can't spot a DS Hunter until the last few moments. So congrats, Monsieur End of Anubis, you have earned the right to know you were challenged by moi!"

The End of Anubis, a powerful fiend-type monster in the game of duel monsters, was standing over the still convulsing Lillian, his body completely covered in sparks as her was and preventing him from moving. "Damn you, you accursed human!"

"Tsk, tsk," the DS Hunter clicked his tongue a few times at the End of Anubis. "And here I was thinking that we could settle this without resorting to name calling. Oh well, what's done has been done, I suppose this means that now I should finish the job…"

The DS Hunter lifted his right arm up, revealing that strapped to his right wrist was a sleek duel disk that had several weird markings on it. "Be thankful, for you now have a chance to survive in this world, Monsieur End. Unless… Unless, you can't form your deck here in this world."

The End growled loudly as all of the scraps of paper immediately flew around the area, covering the floors and walls of the basement. The DS Hunter smirked as he held his duel disk covered arm up into the air, "Monsieur End, moi really thanks you for making this transaction so much easier… But, moi would like to make you a deal, if you are interested."

"A… Deal?" The End of Anubis growled.

"Yes, one that moi thinks that you'll be more than grateful to take," the DS Hunter chuckled as the smirk on his face began to become devious.

**TTTTTTTT**

_Five minutes later…_

"Yeesh, I can't believe we followed those arrows," Cain grumbled as the trio walked through the hallways, having slowed down a touch so they would be able to follow the arrows correctly. "If I die because of this and you two live, I'm haunting you both!"

"Oh no, it's Cain, the midget ghost!" Mustang joked playfully as he sidestepped a punch thrown by the smaller blue student.

"I'm not a midget damn it!" Cain snarled loudly.

Price was so close to berating the two blues again for causing a ruckus, but still, everyone dealt with problems in a different manner, and crude humor seemed to work for these two quite well. At least they weren't as loud as before.

Still, they were walking through the hallway, with an arrow that occasionally took them down further or around a corner, just like now when there was an arrow that pointed towards one direction when there was a fork in the road…

As soon as the three rounded the corner, they saw that there was a bright light at the end of the hallway, which caused all three of them to stop dead in their tracks. Price turned back to the slightly bickering blue students and asked, "Does this place still get electricity?"

"I don't think so," Mustang answered as the three turned towards each other. "Think this could be it?"

"If it's a trap," Cain muttered with his arms crossed over his chest. "Then it's certainly got enough bait, almost seems kind of rude to let all of this preparation go to waste."

"I thought you weren't into this idea?" Price questioned as all three of them slowly walked down the hallway.

"Don't get the wrong impression," Cain snarled back with his arms crossed. "I'm just coming along cause I know that I wouldn't sleep if I left you two to your own devices, well, I can say that about Mustang."

"Quite a low blow," Mustang pointed out with a smirk. "Then again, you're usually about the low blows, now aren't you?"

"Shut up," Cain chuckled.

Soon, all three of them reached the end of the hall, entering into the large basement area that was lit up by what appeared to be a large runic circle that glowed with a dull white light. And standing in the middle of said circle was none other than Lillian herself, with her back to the group. Among the runic circle were several scraps of paper that seemed to glow in a different colored light, which made the whole scene quite odd.

"See, no trap," Mustang pointed out as he tapped Cain's arm a few times with the back of his hand. "Just the girl we were looking for."

"Who's standing atop of a glowing circle!" Cain retorted with his arms crossed. "How about the fact that she's got her back to us and we're yelling out but she hasn't even looked at us! She could just be a scarecrow of her!"

"I don't think so," Price stated as he turned over his shoulder. "Both of you, stand in the hallway. If there is any danger, I want you two to run for it, go get help and bring it back here. If anyone's going to risk their life, it's going to be me."

"You won't hear me complaining," Cain stated as he walked backwards towards the hallway. "Good luck."

"Cain!" Mustang growled before he turned back to Price. "We're not going to leave ya Price, we chose to come along, and we're sticking to ya!"

"Is that why you're backing away to the hallway?" Price questioned with a roll of his eyes, it was true, Mustang was edging himself back to the hallway where they all entered through.

"Uh, well, you see," Mustang chuckled, all the while backing up.

"I'm just teasing Mustang," Price snickered with a large smirk on his face. "I thank you for all that you've done for me, just promise me to get out of here if danger is present. I don't want to endanger any of my students any further."

"No worries," Mustang answered as both he and Price walked in different directions.

Price fitted his flashlight into his pocket and slowly made his way towards Lillian, his hands kept at his sides as he got closer. "Miss Rosencrantz, are you alright?"

Slowly, Lillian began to turn around, her eyes wide and red as she stared directly into Price's soul. "P-Professor?"

"Yeah, Price," the red professor stated as he lifted his hand up towards Lillian, a smile on his face. "I don't know what's going on here, but Miss Rosencrantz, it can't be safe here. Please, come with me to…"

At that very moment, Price leapt backwards, just in time to dodge the large ghostly purple furred clawed hand that crashed into the ground right where he was standing. The claw slowly lifted itself up and clenched its clawed fingers together as the arm slowly floated around Lillian's body.

"Price!" Cain shouted.

"Professor Price!" Mustang shouted at the same time as Cain.

A large devilish smirk appeared on Lillian's face as a more devilish, ghostly form began to pulsate from her body. "So… When did you notice?"

"The eyes are a dead giveaway," Price answered quickly as he rolled his eyes. "You'd have to be colorblind not to notice."

"Impressive, for a human," Lillian spoke in a much more deeper, raspier voice as the aura around her began to grow more solid forming into the large jackal-like demon – The End of Anubis that towered over Lillian's form.

"Wow, don't see that everyday," Price admitted with a bead of sweat rolling down the side of his head.

"I should think not," The End of Anubis chuckled as Lillian's head drooped down slightly. "But then again, I doubt you'd see any other day after I'm done with you."

"Big talk coming from an overgrown mutt," Price countered with his arms lifted up slightly.

"Insolent human!" The End of Anubis roared loudly as it slammed both of its claws hands into the ground around Lillian's body. "How dare to speak to me like that!"

"Oh yeah?" Price sighed with his hand waved a few times. "Why don't you come over here and make me stop?"

The End of Anubis snarled loudly at the smirking Price that was quite a few yards away from him. Both Mustang and Cain blinked a few times at what was happening before them – The normally timid professor was mouthing off to what appeared to be a demon in the form of a Duel monster, then again, ever since Price took those glasses off, he managed to pull a few out of character stunts this evening.

Cain turned towards Mustang with a dull look in his eyes, "Uh, do you have any clue what's going on here?"

"You're going to have to be more specific about that," Mustang questioned with a serious look on his face. "Are you talking about the large demonic ghost that's hovering over Lillian's body? The fact that Price is taunting said demonic ghost? Or that the demon doesn't seem to attacking Price for the rude comments?"

"How about all of the above!" Cain snarled back.

"Alright, I'll give a crack at it," Mustang mumbled as he rubbed his chin a few times. "First off, if I had to guess what the big guy is, he might just be that one monster… Ya know, its that one card. Damn, I can't remember its name! It had an Egyptian name or…"

"You mean the End of Anubis?" Cain replied flatly and dryly with his eyes mimicking his voice tone.

"YEAH!" Mustang laughed with his arms crossed. "Yep! That's definitely the End of Anubis, and if that thing's here, then there are two explanations for what's going on – Either this is a duel disk going haywire or we might just bee looking at the one thing that we've been looking for in people."

Cain raised his gloved hand up to his mouth and closed his eyes, "… A duel spirit…"

"Yeah," Mustang replied. "As for why Price is taunting the big thing… Hell if I know. But as to why its not going after Price, maybe its because of that weird glowing circle that they're standing in. But once again, hell if I know."

"So basically, what you're saying," Cain muttered with a dulled look in his eyes. "Is that you're useless in this situation."

"Now that's just rude," Mustang countered.

While the two of the blues stopped talking to each other in order to watch the continued skirmish between professor and demonic duel spirit, a familiar cloaked figure appeared behind the two Obelisk Blue duelists, a smirk on his masked face.

Meanwhile, back in the basement…

"Any reason why you're not moving?" Price questioned with a raised eyebrow at the End of Anubis. "Come on, what's your game plan?"

"Insolent human," The End of Anubis snarled as it lifted its clawed hands up into the air. "If I was capable of moving, I would rip your limbs off of your body! But as such, at the moment, I am bound to this small body which cannot move at the moment."

"So basically, you're trapped," Price concluded. "As long as you're possessing Miss Rosencrantz you can't move from where she stands."

"In a manner of speaking, yes," The End of Anubis growled as he ran his clawed hands over Lillian's body, ruffling her clothes and hair in the process. "But, the same hold true here, you can't get close to her either lest you want to become prey for my claws. And I'm not so attached to this body right here that I wouldn't shed a tear if I were to dig my claws into her flesh…"

"So, we're at a stand off?" Price questioned raising an eyebrow.

"In a sense," Anubis cackled as he pulled one of his claws away from Lillian's body and pointed them towards Price. "However, even if I were to claw her up, I'd still be trapped down here without a physical body of sorts, and your body is actually starting to look a lot more comfortable for me to reside in, rather than being trapped inside this scrawny little body."

"So, you want me to give you my body or something?" Price questioned with his head tilted slightly. "You're rather depraved…"

"I'd say more along the lines of desperate," Anubis replied with its arms lifted up once again. "After finally reaching this world, I will be willing to do anything to remain here. And if I wasn't bound here, I would not be dealing with you. In any case, your reason for being here is this girl, correct?"

"I can read your intentions a mile away," Price scoffed back at Anubis. "You want me to make a trade, you take my body and you let her go."

"Indeed," Anubis admitted. "However, is it not a fair deal?"

"Hell no!" Price snapped with his eyes narrowed down at Anubis. "You steal her body and act like its property! And frankly, I'd rather kick your ugly ass out of Miss Rosencrantz's body than give up mine!"

"I figured as such," Anubis sighed with a shake of its head. "You humans are full of contradictions, you want to save this girl, but you're not willing to sacrifice in order to save her."

"I shouldn't have to sacrifice myself to save her!" Price retorted with his arm lifted up into the air. "Now, do you have a point to this conversation, or are you just trying to waste time?"

"Hardly," Anubis growled as he lifted his arm up, which in turn made Lillian lift her arm up as well to reveal that there was a duel disk. "I have a manner for us to settle this problem. While I have been in this body, I have the privy to access her memories as well as her movements, from what I can tell by your clothing, you are one of the professors of this school she attends… One that specializes in the art of Duel Monsters as it seems, therefore…"

"You want to settle this with a duel?" Price interrupted with his arms crossed.

"Yes, you win and I'll vacate this body," Anubis cackled trailing a clawed finger down the side of Lillian's body, almost causing a rip in the side of her uniform. "You lose, I'll leave this body and take yours, either way, the girl will be freed from my grasp."

Price lowered his head for a few seconds before he reached into his overcoat. "Fine! If that's how it's going to be, then I'll beat you and whatever grasp you have over Miss Rosencrantz I'll shatter!"

"Impressive words for such a small human," Anubis cackled as he lifted his arm up, making Lillian do the same thing, activating the duel disk attached to her arm. "You have quite a mouth on you, countless years ago, you would've had your tongue cut out for having such disrespect towards a powerful creature as myself."

"Good thing we're not in your time," Price replied as he pulled a duel disk from his jacket and slapped it on his wrist, activating the device. "Now, are you about done, or are you going to just keep standing around?"

"Wow, it looks as though Price's really getting pissed off here," Mustang admitted raising an eyebrow at the scene that was occurring in front of him. "I never thought I'd see him like this, even with that weird alter ego of his."

"I'm a little pissed off myself at this demon," Cain stated with his arms crossed over his chest. "He's acting all high and mighty and he's using a helpless girl as a bargaining chip! Frankly, I'd go over there and smack him upside his head!"

"Then what's stopping you?" Mustang questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Cause I know that if I do, I'd either be dooming myself or Miss Rosencrantz over there," Cain retorted.

Neither of the blues noticed that the masked figure was slowly getting closer and closer to them, a large smirk appearing on his face.

"Let the torture begin!" Anubis laughed as Lillian drew the first five cards from the top of the deck in her duel disk. (ALP: 8000)

"I prefer to say 'Duel'," Price retorted as he pulled off the top five cards from his deck. (PLP: 8000)

"Soon, it won't matter what you say," Anubis cackled as he moved one of his fingers, making Lillian draw once more. "My draw, now, call forth the third card from the left in attack mode, my slave."

Lillian didn't react to the order but then she reached for the card that Anubis had pointed out. For a moment her hand stopped but then continued as she lifted it up and slapped it onto her duel disk. The moment that the card appeared on her duel disk, several ghostly spirits began to wrap in front of her and Anubis, immediately forming into a spirit dressed in fancy gold and blue Egyptian robes that had a headdress of Horus atop of his head.

The ghostly spirit lifted its arms up to reveal a pair of tablets that had several Egyptian characters written on them (0/0). Anubis cackled as he lifted his arms up slightly. "Let me introduce you to the Pharaoh's Advisor, one of the first of the last monsters you'll ever see. That will be all."

Price slowly drew his next card and looked at his hand, '_He summons a monster with zero points in attack mode and doesn't even set a card… Monsters with zero attack points tend to be tricky. But, frankly if I can hit him hard and hit him fast, then I can get a great lead on this demon!'_

Looking closer at his cards, Price nodded as he pulled a single card from his hand, "Looks like fate itself wants me to win! I summon Arch Mech Sensou in attack mode!"

A powerful blue explosion erupted in front of Price, immediately forming into the blue armored, mechanized warrior. As soon as the machine landed on the ground, it threw several punches and kicks through the air before it stomped down onto the ground (2300/500).

"Nice, he got his favorite monster out quick," Mustang noted out loud.

"Yeah, with its summoning ability," Cain muttered to himself. "That thing is good for second turn players, but still… I doubt that Advisor is a mistake."

"True," Mustang grumbled. "But considering the situation, what choice does he have but to attack?"

"Sensou!" Price roared as he threw his arm forward, making the Arch Mech leap through the air and fly towards the Advisor. "Crash his monster into the ground!"

Anubis didn't even flinch as Sensou slammed his fist into the ghostly monster, crushing it into the ground with several spirits erupting from its 'corpse'. All of the spirits wrapped around Lillian's body, making the young woman yelp loudly as they surged around and through her! (ALP: 5700)

"What the?" Price questioned as Sensou leapt backwards, which allowed Price to see Lillian now on the ground, holding her sides as she shivered terribly. "What the hell did you do to her!"

"What I did?" Anubis cackled loudly as he licked his lips. "Oh no, I didn't do a thing… At least not at on purpose. You see, foolish human, even though I lack a physical body, I can still strike you and this girl. And it seems that just the fact that my presence is here, so will the attacks we launch will be real as well.

"So, essentially you just struck the very person you're trying to help."

"You bastard!" Price snarled loudly as he stomped forwards, however, several ghostly spirits erupted from the ground where the Advisor stood. "What's happening now?"

"Oh, this," Anubis cackled as Lillian pulled four cards from her deck, holding up the cards in front of her. "It's her monster's ability, when the Advisor is destroyed as a result of battle, for every five hundred points of damage that I took from that instance of battle, we are allowed to summon one level two or lower normal zombie monster from her deck.

"Since the damage was well over two thousand, then that means that four monsters will appear! So, woman! Call out two Pharaoh's Servants and two Pharaonic Protectors!"

Lillian did as she was told and slipped the cards onto her duel disk, making four more ghostly monsters appear before her, two of them were dressed in yellow Egyptian clothes with a long spear in their ghostly hands (900/0 x2), while the other two were dressed in fancy light purple Egyptian robes covering their ghostly bodies with their arms crossed over their chests (900/0 x2). Through their ghostly skin, one could see the bandages underneath and all four of the mummies wore pristine white masks over their faces.

"Yeesh, I know you're an Egyptian based monster," Price muttered under his breath as he slid a single card into his duel disk, making it appear behind Sensou. "But even this?"

"Foolish mortal," Anubis cackled as Lillian drew another card into her hand from her deck. "Do you honestly believe I would use such mundane strategies if my hand wasn't forced? No, these 'cards' that you see belong to this little wench that I reside in!"

Lillian didn't even bat an eye when that insult was slapped onto her.

"Now, enough wasting time!" Anubis roared as Lillian lifted up a card from her hand. "Now wench, play this card – The spell Solidarity!"

As the spell card appeared to Lillian's left, immediately creating a powerful blue aura to erupt over all four of her mummified monsters making them grow larger (900/0 + 800/0 x4). "Now, since there's a zombie in the graveyard, the Pharaoh's Advisor, all other zombies on my field gain eight hundred attack points.

"But this is just the beginning of the end! Now my slave, play the card furthest to the right!"

Lillian struggled to not reach for the card, but after a few moments she slid the card into her duel disk, creating several sparks that erupted over all four of her mummies, making their masks crack wildly (1700/0 + 1000/0 x4). "Thousand Energy! Now, each level two normal monster now gains a thousand attack points!"

"Oh… Crap," Price muttered loudly with a large bead of sweat rolling over his head.

"We're ending this now!" Anubis roared loudly as it slammed its claws into the ground. "Pharaoh's Servant number one! Destroy that excuse of a monster!"

The first of the four ghostly mummies lifted its arms up into the air, and countless bandages flew from the mummy's arms and wrapped around Sensou's arms. The machine began to pull its arms away from the bandages however, before it pulled the bandages free, the Pharaoh's Servant appeared before Sensou and stabbed both of its arms into the machine's chest, sending sparks and parts flying through the air.

A few of the parts slammed into Price's body, making him stagger backwards as Sensou shattered into pixels. (PLP: 7600)

"And now, to end this," Anubis cackled as the remaining three mummies charged over the field. "Do be careful not to rough up my new body too badly though!"

Price lifted his duel disk up as a shield as the two Pharaonic Protectors jabbed their spears at him. The blades skidded over Price's duel disk and stabbed into his shoulders, making the professor stagger backwards from the force of the two weapons. As he stepped back, the weapons were pulled from his shoulders and allowed two spurts of blood to pop from the professor's shoulders. "GURK!" (PLP: 2200)

"Oh crap! Professor Price!" Mustang shouted as the last of the four mummies began to stagger towards Price.

"I play my trap card – Defense Draw!" Price announced as a powerful barrier erupted in front of him, knocking the Pharaoh's Servant staggering backwards. "S-So not g-g-going to happen now…"

"Humph!" Anubis scoffed as Price slowly drew another card into his hand. "So you just bought yourself some more pain. Wench, set a monster face down and two cards face down!"

Lillian quickly did as she was told and fitted the cards into her duel disk, making the face down cards appear in front of her controlled form. "Turn end. And it's at this time that I must pay the price for this move, all four of the monsters I have face up must be destroyed."

All four of the mummies shattered like glass, their bandages falling to the ground in front of Lillian. The girl seemed to shudder at the sight of them.

Price groaned as he slowly stood up, '_I guess I should be glad that the pain wasn't as bad as it was. Although, it still hurts!'_

Price reached for his deck and immediately pulled his newest card into his hand, his eyes trailing over the six cards he held. "… Alright, I play the spell card, Future Fusion! Now, I can send my three Quantities from my deck to my graveyard, in two turns I can summon Heavy Artillery Q-3 from my fusion deck!"

"It's too bad you won't last that long," Anubis cackled as Price fitted the three cards into his duel disk's graveyard slot.

"We'll see about that!" Price announced as he slipped another card from his hand into his duel disk. "I play another Continuous Spell – Clock Over!"

A bright light erupted from Price's Duel disk, immediately allowing three lights to erupt from Price's graveyard slot, allowing the three Quantities to appear in front of him, all three of them striking a dramatic pose (500/400 x3). "Thanks to this spell, I can now summon all three these guys from my graveyard… However, they can't attack, be tributed and can't be used in a Synchro summon."

"So you just wasted my time again?" Anubis questioned as Price wagged a finger.

"I don't see this as a waste," Price announced as he spun around another card from his hand. "Especially since I'm playing Polymerization! Now, I can fuse all three of these monsters together right away!"

All three of the Quantities leapt up into the air, transforming into several parts that began to meld together and combine into a large familiar mechanized warrior that was armed with the teeth with weapons, including a familiar rocket launcher (2500/2400). "Q-3!"

"Not a bad move," Mustang muttered with a smirk on his face. "Not only does he have a powerful monster, but in two turns, if he has a second copy, then he'll have a second powerhouse to his name."

"We kinda forgot that he was a professor," Cain stated with a shrug of his shoulders. "Of course he'd have skills."

"Now, Q-3! Attack…" Price started…

However a powerful roar echoed through the air, making Q-3 stagger backwards with Price holding his duel disk up. As the roar died down, Anubis began to cackle loudly, "You humans are so hopeless, even at a Threatening Roar will make you shiver in your boots."

"Great, so much for an attack that turn," Price muttered as he reached for the three remaining cards in his hand. "I set a card face down, and end my turn!"

"No, you don't end it just yet," Anubis cackled as it lifted its hand up, making Lillian do the same. "Before you end your turn, my wench plays the trap card – The First Sarcophagus!"

The ground began to quake wildly, allowing the earth in front of both Lillian and the End of Anubis to open up, which unleashed a large golden, stone sarcophagus onto the field. "Now, you can end your turn… Which allows this Sarcophagus to open up and allow the Second Sarcophagus to appear!"

The golden sarcophagus opened up, allowing a second, if not fancier sarcophagus to float over the field. "Now, it's my turn, draw you little woman."

Cain gritted his teeth at the sight of the two Egyptian coffins, "Great, now what is Price going to do?"

"Is that sarcasm in your mouth?" Mustang questioned with a wave of his hand. "Because of that, we now know that the big monster over there is using Miss Rosencrantz's deck…"

Cain rolled his eyes, "Look, unless Price has a card destruction spell or trap in his hand, things are going to get messy, you know as well as I do that Rosencrantz managed to become a blue because of that deck.

"It may be predictable, but because of that, a lot of players are lulled into a false sense of security when she brings out something new."

Lillian did as she was told, drawing another card from her deck and then reached for her duel disk, "Next, we'll flip up the face down monster that's set on our field – Des Lacooda!"

The face down monster on Lillian/Anubis' field flipped up, allowing a large decrypted, mummified camel to appear onto the field with dust seeping from its mouth (500/600 + 800/0). Anubis cackled loudly as Lillian drew from the top of her deck once more. "Now, since this creature was flipped, we are allowed to draw once more… And then we can flip it face down once again!"

As Lillian set the monster card back onto her field, the camel disappeared into the card back onto the field. "Now, one card face down, and turn end."

The set card appeared before Lillian, and Price sighed loudly. "That's all?"

"Don't misunderstand human," Anubis cackled with its tongue out. "The final event is about to occur, you may have survived one kill, but you won't be able to survive another!"

"We'll see about that," Price stated as he drew from the top of his deck. Looking at the newly drawn card, a smirk appeared on Price's face. "If you wish it to be so, luck will always be on your side…"

"Hmm?" Anubis questioned as Price slipped a card into his duel disk.

"Go! Mystical Space Typhoon!" Price roared as a powerful storm swept through the basement area. "Now, I'll destroy the First Sarcophagus!"

"NO!" Anubis snarled as it slammed its fist into the ground, making a large portion of the ground crack under the pressure. "Reverse set! Magic Jammer!"

Lillian quickly slipped a single card from her hand into the graveyard, which immediately transformed the face down card on her field into a large cloud of smoke that crashed into the powerful windstorm, cancelling both of them out.

Price clicked his tongue behind his teeth.

"Damn it," Mustang muttered. "So close!"

"… Who runs Magic Jammer any more?" Cain questioned with a large sweatdrop rolling down the side of his head.

"… You're missing the big picture here," Mustang sighed. "Cause unless Price can pull off a miracle, then next turn he'll be up against an army of the undead again."

"You know I can hear you both, right?" Price yelled as he held up a card from his hand. "Besides, I don't care if an army does appear before me, I won't allow anyone to harm my students! I summon Cerberus Cannon!"

Three mechanical howls echoed through the air as a large three headed wolf-like machine crashed into the field next to Q-3, its blue and silver armor gleaming in the light from the ground (1000/1000). The large mechanical beast snarled loudly as all three sets of glowing red eyes zeroed in on Anubis.

"Now, this monster's a Union monster!" Price announced as he snapped his fingers, the large mechanical Cerberus leapt up into the air above Q-3.

A few moments later, the machine crashed into Q-3's other shoulder, revealing that the main body of the Cerberus Cannon had drawn in the legs and the three heads of the machine transformed into three long barrels (2500/2400 + 500/0).

"New weapon!" Mustang laughed loudly.

"Yeesh, you just had to go with a reference like that," Cain muttered with a roll of his eyes.

Price couldn't help but sigh slightly at the two Obelisk blues behind him, "In any case, Q-3 Cerberus Unit! Attack the face down monster!"

Shifting its metallic body to the side, Q-3 aimed with three barreled cannon and fired several rounds through the air and into the face down Des Lacooda. The rounds exploded and lit the card ablaze before the flames dispersed through the air and past Lillian and Anubis's bodies. Anubis looked as the sparks began to turn blue and encircle his body, "What trickery is this?"

"No tricks," Price answered with his arms crossed. "It's just that once a monster equipped with Cerberus Cannon gains a trample ability! So, you take damage through your monster's defense! And look where all the sparks are!"

The sparks immediately crashed into Anubis's body, making the demon howl out loud, sure a few sparks hit Lillian, but they did minor damage when compared to the burning pains that Anubis was dealing with. (ALP: 3300)

"Ha! That's what you get for messing with my students!" Price roared loudly as he lifted his hand up. "You come here trying to steal a student's body and then you try using her as a shield, I won't allow you to do this sort of stuff… Not as long as I'm a professor!"

"You assume I planned this for a while," Anubis snarled with its clawed arm raised up. "No, this was a last minute ordeal. I did want to come to this realm, but in order for that to happen, a human must open the door for a duel spirit like me. And depending on our individual abilities, each of us has to appear in this world in a different manner – Someone as strong as me is only limited to resorting to stealing a physical body.

"But as I said, I didn't do this, rather, you have your so-called student to thank for that. She was the one trying to open the door to the Duel Spirit realm, I was just the one who reached the door first… If anything, you have this wench right here to blame for all of this happening!

"She was the one who brought me to this world!"

"Yeah, but you were the one who took her body," Price retorted as he slipped a single card into his duel disk. "And frankly, whatever her reasons are for trying to make this 'door' of yours open, I don't care at the moment. All I care about is getting you out of her body!"

"Humph," Anubis growled loudly. "Feel free to interpret how you wish human, are you ending your turn?"

"Yeah, I am," Price stated as the second Sarcophagus began shudder and open, unleashing a sarcophagus that was made out of pure gold over the field.

"Good, for now that means the Third Sarcophagus is now on the field!" Anubis laughed loudly as all three of the Sarcophaguses began to glow brighter and brighter with each passing second. "Now that we have all three of the cards out on the field we can automatically send them away to summon the king of this deck!"

All three of the sarcophaguses shattered into millions of sand particles that wrapped around the two duelists. Price blinked a few times as he watched a large, tall figure (even taller than the End of Anubis!) walk from behind both Lillian and Anubis through the sand. From the sand stepped a towering masked man, one with royal orange and golden Egyptian robes you would see on royalty covering his dark blue, muscular body. The man's face was covered with a golden mask while on his shoulders were two ebony colored statue heads – One of Horus and the other of Anubis. The monster in question stopped walking as it reached the center of the field and lifted its hand up into the air.

All of the sand that was surrounding the two duelists and duel spirit began accumulating into the monster's hand, refining itself into a large and fancy broadsword (2500/2000 + 800/0). Anubis scoffed at the sight of this monster, "Meh, real classy Sprit of the Pharaoh, you always gotta show off, don't ya?"

The Spirit of the Pharaoh turned over his shoulder and leered at Anubis, almost looking ready to attack the duel spirit.

That's when Price's eyes widened at the sight of the monster, '_This… This monster! It's the same thing I saw last night!'_

The Spirit of the Pharaoh turned back to Price and stabbed its sword into the ground, instantly making the ground shake. After a few moments, four coffins erupted from the ground, several cracks lining the coffins. "Now, this pharaoh has a commanding ability! When special summoned by the First Sarcophagus, the Spirit of the Pharaoh immediately special summons four level two or lower normal zombie monsters from the graveyard!

"So, this army returns!"

All four of the coffins shattered, immediately unleashing the four mummies that had initiated the original onslaught against Price, the Pharaonic Protectors and Pharaoh's Servants (900/0 + 800/0 x4). "Now wench, draw our next card!"

Lillian didn't move. Her dulled over gaze was drawn over to the Spirit of the Pharaoh that stood before her. For a moment, a tear began to cascade down from the side of her face and fell to the ground.

Anubis snarled loudly as he lifted his clawed hand up to Lillian's torso and wrapped his clawed hands around her neck. "Hurry up and draw, you wretched bitch!"

With the pressure being applied to her neck, Lillian immediately drew from the top of her deck, holding up the cards in her hand towards Anubis. "Finally, now, play the continuous spell – Now!"

Lillian slipped the card into her duel disk, creating a large spell appear behind all five of the zombie monsters at Anubis's field, the spell itself showed the Spirit of the Pharaoh standing before several Egyptian soldiers with his hand held high. "Order of the Pharaoh, this card gains three separate effects, depending if the following cards are in the graveyard – The First Sarcophagus grants all monsters on this side of the field an additional one hundred attack and defense points for each zombie in our graveyard. Des Lacooda, Pharaoh's Advisor and one Goblin Zombie are what reside in this graveyard at the moment, so that's three hundred more points for each monster on my field!"

The Spirit of the Pharaoh (3300/2000 + 300/300) and the four mummies around the field (1700/0 + 300/300 x4) became engulfed in a powerful golden aura. "The Second Sarcophagus prevents my monsters from being affected by non-targeting effects. And Third Sarcophagus prevents the Order from the Pharaoh from being destroyed by spell or trap cards!"

"Crap," Price muttered to himself as Lillian held up one of the two remaining cards from her hand.

"But we're not done, not yet! Play that spell now!" Anubis laughed loudly as Lillian slipped the card into his duel disk, creating a pair of vortexes behind the Pharaonic Protectors and Pharaoh's Servants. "Double Fusion! Now for the mere cost of five hundred points, there can be two Fusions this turn!" (ALP: 2800)

The two vortexes began to pull in both the two Pharaonic Protectors as well as the two Pharaoh's Servants, the two types of monsters getting drawn into their own individual vortexes. "Now, arise my two new monsters!"

Both vortexes shattered like glass, and standing to the Spirit of the Pharaoh's right was a tall, sleek mummy dressed in long flowing purple robes with two white porcelain masks covering his face while in its wrapped hands were a pair of ankhs (2300/0 + 800/0). While from the other vortex emerged a large muscular Egyptian mummy dressed in golden, rusted armor that was covered with bandages draped over its mummified body while there were several spears mounted on its back whiled two were in its hands (2300/0 + 800/0). "Pharaonic Advisor and Pharaoh's Guardsman! And since there are four more zombies in the graveyard, all three of my monster's become stronger!"

The Order of the Pharaoh began to grow brighter, strengthening the Spirit of the Pharaoh (3600/2300 + 400/400), Pharaonic Advisor (3100/0 + 700/700) and the Pharaoh's Guardsman (3100/0 + 700/700).

"Holy shit!" Cain shouted with his eyes widening. "If that's really Rosencrantz's deck, how the hell did this combo fly under the radar?"

"If you really wanna know," Mustang answered with a wag of his finger. "It's because Lillian Rosencrantz isn't here as a duelist, she's here on an educational venue."

"Wow, that's really interesting," Price growled as he kept his eyes on the dueling field. "But in case you didn't notice, I'm up against three terrors of the crypt!"

"Are all humans like this?" Anubis questioned with his head tilted. "It matters not. Thanks to my two new monsters, not only are my spells and trap safe from destruction, but so are they. Non-targeting effects can no longer affect them. So you cannot destroy my cards other than by destroying my monsters through battle…

"But I doubt that's going to help you, Spirit of the Pharaoh! Eliminate his Machine!"

The Spirit of the Pharaoh sighed loudly before he charged forward, his sword grasped tightly in his hands as he rushed Q-3. However a large totem pole with loud speakers in it emerged onto the field between the two monsters. For a second, the Spirit of the Pharaoh stood right there and eyed the weird machine that stood before him…

However, a few seconds later, a large sonic shockwave erupted from the totem pole and sent the Spirit of the Pharaoh staggering back. As the totem pole shattered, Price pulled off the top card from his deck, "Too bad I had set Command Silencer! Which allows me to negate one attack and allow me to draw one card in return!"

"True," Anubis chuckled as Guardsman lifted up its arms and the two spears in its hands. "But, that means that now my Guardsman and Advisor now have fair game against this atrocity of this machine of yours! Guardsman! Lead us off!"

The spear armed mummy dashed over the field, prepared to stab both of the weapons into machine, however, Q-3 merely threw the Cerberus Cannon towards the Guardsman, catching the brunt of the spears' attacks. Unfortunately, when the spears pierced through the cannon, the weapon exploded into a fiery burst that caused the Q-3 to stagger backwards (2500/2400). (PLP: 1400)

"Humph, I take it that the monster weapon took the hit for your monster," Anubis cackled as it licked its teeth. "Too bad it won't be able to help you with this attack! Advisor! Finish this!"

Tossing the ankhs into the air, the Pharaonic Advisor threw its hands forward, sending several bandages through the air towards Q-3. The bandages wrapped around the Heavy Artillery's arms and legs, immediately crushing the metal until the arms were ripped out from the Q-3's body. And with a quick spin, the powerful mummy slammed the dismembered arms into Q-3's body, shattering the rest of the machine into millions of parts that slammed into Price's body, sending him flying back a few feet. "AAAAAAAAARRRRGH!" (PLP: 100)

The three cards in Price's hand fell to the ground as he landed on his back, as he bounced from the ground, blood spurted from Price's mouth with his eyes widening.

Both Cain and Mustang stepped forward from the hall and ran towards Price, "Professor!"

"You humans really are foolish!" Anubis roared, sending a powerful shockwave through the room that stopped both Cain and Mustang in their tracks. "This battle is still in the works, and should either of you lay a hand on him, this battle will be over with – And I'll claim his body!"

"Get over yourself you demented dog!" Cain snarled throwing his arm over to the side. "The guy's wounded over here! At the very least let me finish this duel for him!"

"I am not interested in some pipsqueak," Anubis growled back.

Something snapped inside Cain's mind. "YOU WANNA SAW THAT AGAIN YOU FLEA INFESTED MONGREL!"

"Gladly!" Anubis laughed loudly. "You're as small and pathetic as a mouse, yet you don't realize that I can easily crush you! Now, I have no intention of allowing you mortals of interfering in my affairs, however, I'm a reasonable duel spirit…"

Anubis lifted up its clawed hand and snapped its fingers. A cloud of smoke erupted to the right of the dueling field. The smoke began to disappear and in its place was a large hourglass that had the sand in the top portion quickly slipping down into the lower portion. "This hourglass slips for exactly two minutes. When the sand runs out, this man will forfeit his body to me if he's not back on his feet.

"You may try to wake him up, but you are not to touch him… Better hurry, not too much longer…"

"Great, if this doesn't go well," Mustang groaned loudly. "We're going to have this sexist beast as our professor… I thought we'd get away from the perverted professor cliché."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Anubis snarled.

TTTTTTTTT

_Price stared into space, not really looking at anything in particular – The ceiling, the two loud young men who were standing over him, anything. The pain was circulating through his body, almost as if it were moving along with his heartbeat. This rush of Anubis was powerful, and the fact that the pain was real was practically overwhelming._

_Price wanted to help Lillian Rosencrantz, but at this point, what could Price do?_

_He was weak._

_He has always been weak._

_Even at his strongest, he was weak._

_And this just proved it._

_Not even the face down card that he had could help him out at this point. _

_All Price wanted to do now, was close his eyes and rest…_

"I would advise against that," _A noble voice sounded, making Price's eyes shoot wide open._

_Slowly Price began to sit up, realizing that everything in the basement had frozen still – Cain and Mustang were still standing over where Price was, Anubis had his head held up laughing and Lillian… Well, she was already like a statue except for when Anubis told her to move._

_But Price… Well, he could move._

_So slowly he stood up. _

_And when he stood up straight, he realized something. _

_He wasn't alone._

_Standing before him was none other than the Spirit of the Pharaoh, the one who had just lead the assault of Anubis's rush. And this Spirit was looking down on Price with its arms crossed, _"Good to see that you're back on your feet, Professor Price."

"What is this?" _Price asked quickly._ "What's going on? And what the hell do you want?"

_The Spirit of the Pharaoh shook his head slightly and sighed,_ "You are entitled to all of those answers to those questions. First, consider this as such as an… Astral projection of yourself. An out of body experience if you will."

"Huh, and I take it you were the guy who put me in this?" _Price questioned with a flat look in his eyes._

"Yes, you could say that," _The Spirit answered back._ "I felt it necessary to do this in order to speak to you."

"Well, job well done," _Price replied as he waved his hand a few times._ "What'd ya need?"

"Quick to the point," _The Spirit chuckled with a smile on his blue face. _"I can respect that. My request is simple, destroy Anubis."

"… Simple's hardly the word I'd use,"_ Price admitted with a bead of sweat rolling down the side of his head._ "In case you didn't notice, I'm getting my tail handed over here… And you had a hand in it!"

"Not by choice!"_ The Spirit barked back_. "Besides, you've got a hundred life points still. You can probably turn this around. Heck, you're the only one who can stop this creature from wreaking havoc in this world, and to save Lily."

"… Lily?" _Price questioned with his head tilted slightly._

_The Spirit of the Pharaoh lifted his hands up and chuckled sheepishly, _"Oh, m-my apologies. I've gotten so comfortable to call Lillian Lily that it's become habit of mine. In any case, I only request that you please help her… You may even destroy me to save her, please, I beg of you…"

"And how the hell am I supposed to pull that off?" _Price questioned with the flat look in his eyes returning._ "In case you haven't noticed, I'm kinda about to lose. Not only this duel, but also my body!"

"I realize that this is tough,"_ The Spirit replied with his head lowered slightly._ "But remember why you even bothered trying to help her in the first place. You said you were a professor and that you wouldn't allow one of your students to be harmed. Where did that passion and determination go?"

"Heh, I still have that inside me," _Price answered with his arms crossed. _"But, frankly, before I continue to help, I think I'm entitled to know what the hell she was doing in the first place. Cause frankly, from what Anubis said, this is… Lily's fault."

"Unfortunately, that is true," _The Spirit answered back with a loud sigh._ "And it's a long story… So…"

"Mind if we get the short version?" _Price requested with his arms raised slightly. _"I don't know if you live here all your life like this, but this astral world is kinda freaking me out."

"My apologies,"_ The Spirit replied with a slight bow._ "Then allow me to tell my tale. Tell me something, have you ever heard of the Rosencrantz family?"

"It sounds familiar," _Price answered._

"They are a dueling family," _The Spirit explained._ "For the last three generations, the Rosencrantz family had produced several talented duelists in Lily's family. They were quite famous and managed to gain a large amount of fame, especially considering the fact that each of them ran an Egyptian deck, such as Gravekeepers, Horus decks, or in Lily's case – A Spirit of the Pharaoh deck. Of course, when you have a following that large, a family can attract a large amount of attention, both good and bad.

"Ten years prior to this year, when Lily was only six, she was kidnapped by some very bad men. She was held hostage by a group of people who wanted to extort some money from the Rosencrantz family."

_Price couldn't help but take a step back, truth be told, the young professor had heard of the Rosencrantz family, but he had never heard of this. Then again, it's possible that the whole thing could've been covered up by the family…_ "That's… Some story, but what does this have to do with this?"

"When this whole incident occurred," _The Spirit answered with his head lowered slightly. _"It was the first time I appeared in this world, with an astral form as well. However, due to the connection that I had with Lily, I was able to appear physically in this real world and save her from those vile fiends… I won't go into the details, as they are a little gory."

"Ugh," _Price gagged with his tongue out._

"Ugh indeed," _The Spirit chuckled slightly. _"In any case, I had saved her from those losers, and ever since then, she's been able to see me and sense me. Although, she hasn't been able to hear me, if she had, then I would've told her to refrain from trying to summon me to this world countless times. But, I believe she's enamored with me, thinking that I'm her savior all this time."

_Price just stood there and sighed loudly._ "Alright, I've heard enough. And this place here is starting to give me a headache. Send me back."

"So, will you try to help Lily?" _The Spirit asked again as Price spun around and slowly walked towards his physical body._

_Price stopped in his tracks and looked over his shoulder with a warm smile on his face, _"I was planning on doing that all along, even if you didn't ask. And I'll do it without destroying you."

"What?" _The Spirit questioned._

TTTTTTT

"Time's almost up," Anubis cackled as he watched the sand begin to dwindle down to its last grains. "I would suggest that both of you stand clear of my new body, this process tends to be a little… explosive."

"Damn it," Mustang growled as he stood up and patted the deck case at the back of his belt. '_I should've taken over, Price may be a professor, but this is a duel spirit he's up against… These guys are almost like instant pro league duelist… If only I could take over.'_

"Damn it, now I'm gonna have to deal with this," Cain sighed as he leaned over the still unmoving Price. "We're going to have to have some insane creature living in…"

At that moment, Price lifted his head up quickly… Which unfortunately made both Cain and Price knock heads together with a loud clanking sound.

"ARGH!"

"SONVA-!"

Cain was now on the ground clutching his bruised forehead while Price was doing the same, except he was on his two feet with a few tears in the corners of his eyes. Mustang and Anubis looked to each other with beads of sweat rolling down both of their heads. However, the older Obelisk Blue student coughed slightly and smirked at Anubis, "Too bad, looks like you won't get that instant win after all."

"Humph," Anubis growled. "Don't think for a second that just because he's back on his feet, he won't win. He only has a hundred life points left, and nothing can help him this turn."

"I wouldn't say that, you overgrown mutt," Price sighed as he rubbed away the bruise that was on his head and slowly began to pick up the four cards from the floor. "I've seen worse comebacks performed. Now, put a muzzle on that face of yours and let me end this duel!"

With his hand of cards gathered back, Price returned to where he stood originally and drew from the top card from his deck, giving him a hand of five cards. Before he reached for his hand, Price looked at Lillian and then at the Spirit of the Pharaoh. '_… I'm not a fan of sob stories, so I'm not about to let another one take place!'_

"Since it's my second stand by phase," Price announced as his Future Fusion spell glowed brightly. "So now I can special summon the second Q-3 from my extra deck!"

From the spell card, a second Heavy Artillery appeared on the field and adjusted the rocket launcher on its shoulder (2500/2400). Anubis scoffed at the sight of the large machine, "This useless piece of junk? Meh, how pathetic are you to play something like this again?"

"I'd hold your tongue," Price continued as he turned a card around his hand. "I play the spell card Dark World Dealings, now we both get to draw a card and then discard a card from our decks."

Anubis lifted his hand up, forcing Lillian to draw the next card from her deck. The card was held up to allow the jackal to look at it and its face curled slightly, '_Ah… This trap card, Creed of the Pharaoh, once I play this card I can use its effect to inflict one hundred points of damage to this fool's life points for each zombie in the graveyard. The only cost is that I have the First Sarcophagus, so then I can burn away the rest of your life points and get my new body…'_

"Discard the card we didn't draw," Anubis cackled as Lillian slipped a copy of Nightmare Steel Cage into her duel disk's graveyard.

"And I'll discard Quillbolt Hedgehog," Price announced as he slipped the card into his duel disk. "Next, I'm playing another spell card, this one known as De-Fusion! So, Q-3, thanks for all your hard work!"

The large armed machine leapt high into the air, transforming into a large orb of light that shattered into three separate splashes of light that crashed onto the floor, forming into the three Quantity monsters (500/400 x3).

"These three monsters again?" Anubis questioned with his red eyes narrowed. "Are you trying to insult me?"

"Not really," Price stated holding up one of the remaining cards in his hand. "But I can still insult ya – You purple haired mutt. I wasn't don't yet, I can still summon this, I summon Soul Blaze! "

A powerful flame erupted over Price's body, instantly forming into a tall masculine being made out of blue flames that had its arms crossed at Anubis (500/500).

"Another weakling?" Anubis chuckled. "Is your deck full of those?"

"Weakling?" Price questioned with a raised eyebrow. "Tell me something Anubis, what do you think of the girl you're possessing?"

"What does that matter?" Anubis growled loudly with its eyes narrowed down at Lillian. "But I'll consider it your last request with your free will, she's nothing more than a weak human, trying to find a way to find a way to bring this monster…"

Anubis gestured towards the Spirit of the Pharaoh. "To this plain of existence. You humans are so foolish, trying to do anything to…"

"That's enough!" Price roared as he reached for his graveyard. "Let me tell you something Anubis, when people love others, they do grow weaker, but it's nothing to be ashamed of. True weakness lies elsewhere because this is not true weakness. Only those who know weakness will be truly able to become stronger… And you Anubis, you don't know true weakness!"

"Wow, marvelous words!" Mustang announced with a applause.

Cain tilted his bruised head slightly. "Huh, why does that sound familiar?"

Price ignored everything else and slapped a card onto his duel disk from his graveyard, "Now, from my graveyard I special summon Quillbolt Hedgehog!"

A ring of light appeared in front of Price giving him a fifth monster, this one a small, if not cute, yellow furred rodent with several bolts sticking out of its back (800/800) that squeaked loudly.

"That card…" Mustang muttered with his eyes widening.

"Yeah, does that mean that," Cain chuckled, a large smirk plastered over his face.

"Ugh, you dare lecture me about weakness," Anubis growled loudly. "And yet, you just keep on summoning weaklings! They stand no chance against my army of the undead! In fact, the first thing I'm going to do with your body is get rid of such trash!"

Price merely closed his eyes as he lifted up one of the remaining cards in his hand up into the air. "Then I have nothing more to say to you. I play Giant Trunade!"

Anubis's red eyes widened as a powerful windstorm swept up both of his spell cards, making the Spirit of the Pharaoh (2500/2000), the Pharaoh's Guardsman (2300/0) and the Pharaonic Advisor (2300/0) all stagger backwards from the windstorm's fury.

"So what?" Anubis yelped like a dog and threw his arm to the side. "None of your weakling monsters can do a damn thing to me or my slaves! And you can't summon again! Your entire field's full and you already normal summoned!"

"Are you stupid?" Cain chuckled crossing his arms.

"What was that you rat?" Anubis snarled.

"Quillbolt Hedgehog," Cain pointed out with his hand gesturing towards the cute little monster on Price's field. "It can only be special summoned while there's a tuner monster on Price's field… And I'm guessing that Soul Blaze there is a Tuner monster, right Professor?"

"Hell yeah," Price replied with a smirk on his face before he lifted his hand forward and snapped his fingers. "And I've got just enough for one of the best that I've got! I tune my Soul Blaze to all four of my other monsters!"

The fiery man roared loudly, making his entire body erupt into two rings of blue flame that surrounded the other four of Price's monsters, transforming them into five gleaming stars of light. Price threw his hand up into the air, making the flames rocket up into the air around the five stars. "_Walking the path of Heaven, justice is myself so I am Justice! Synchro summon Sensou Mech – Kirin!"_

The flames immediately crashed in front of Price, and immediately began to rise up again, this time forming into a tall being made out of flames. It only took a few seconds for the flames to scatter away, revealing a tall mechanical warrior that towered over Price's body. It had ebony colored, oriental styled armor with red trim on it and many silver wires erupting from the back of its head, making it look as though it was actually mechanical hair.

The machine crossed its arms in front of its guarded mechanical face and struck a devastating pose that sent several sparks erupting from its body (2500/2000).

"Humph! This is your big move?" Anubis spat out with its red eyes narrowed. "This machine's no stronger than your previous one!"

"Not yet," Price stated as the Sensou Mech – Kirin lifted its right fist up, creating a powerful blue flame around its fist (2500/2000 + 400/400). "But when Soul Blaze is used as a Synchro material, it automatically equips to my Synchro monster and grants it a power boost of four hundred points!

"And now, Kirin! Attack Pharaonic Advisor!"

The dark armored machine dashed forward with its fist pulled back, and with blinding speed, slammed its steel palm into the Advisor's chest. For a moment, the two monsters just stood there, but as if on a time delayed mechanism, the Advisor was propelled through the air and crashed into Anubis's body, making him stagger backwards. "URK!" (ALP: 2200)

However, surprisingly, the Advisor only bounced off of Anubis and landed on the ground, its ankhs scattering across the ground. Mustang noticed this and lifted his hand up, "Professor! I have a question! Why didn't his monster get destroyed?"

"An excellent question!" Price chuckled with one of his fingers lifted up. "You see, Kirin has a very powerful ability, but considering his stats and this ability, he has a standard. He doesn't destroy those who are weaker than him. Rather, he welcomes the challenge of them to come back and try to overcome his strength.

"In game terms, he can't destroy monsters who have a lower level than him."

"Then you just wasted a lot of my time!" Anubis snarled as the Advisor slowly stood back up. "All I need to do is replay my spells next turn and I'll destroy…"

"Kirin! Attack the Guardsman!"

Before Anubis could finish his sentence, Kirin had quickly leapt over to the Guardsman and slammed its leg into the mummy's gut, sending the undead soldier flying right into Anubis's face, knocking both of the duel monsters to the ground. "GARGH!" (ALP: 1600)

As both duel monsters returned to their feet, Anubis rubbed its jar. "What the…"

"I told you, Kirin has a powerful ability," Price answered pumping his fist up into the air. "For each non-tuner monster that was used in his Synchro Summon, Kirin gains an additional attack for each non-tuner! And I had four, so that means that Kirin gets a total of five attacks!

"And frankly, he doesn't like you, so he's aiming the attacks directly at you Anubis! So let's continue this! Attack Guardsman and Advisor once again!"

Both of the Mummies looked at each other before Kirin quickly appeared at both sides of the monsters, grabbing one arm from each of them and immediately threw them into Anubis again, making the mummies fly over Lillian's head. For the third time, Anubis was knocked off his feet and onto the ground with his two monsters. (ALP: 400)

"You sonva…" Anubis growled, only to realize that both the Spirit of the Pharaoh and Kirin were standing over him. "What are you doing? You're under my control! You can't…"

Once again, Anubis was interrupted when both Kirin and the Spirit of the Pharaoh punched the jackal demon right between the eyes, making the demon's eyes bug out when the back of his head collided with the ground, creating a large crater around where Anubis's head had collided with the ground. (ALP: 0)

"Wow, don't normally see that everyday," Mustang chuckled as all of the monsters on the field slowly began to disappear.

"… After all the crap we saw today, that's what you're claiming disbelief to?" Cain questioned with a raised eyebrow. "The fact that the Spirit of the Pharaoh attacked Anubis alongside Kirin?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Mustang admitted as Lillian slowly fell to her knees.

The only monster that was left was just the Spirit of the Pharaoh who had knelt down before Lillian and offered a hand to the young woman. For a moment, Lillian's eyes remained glassy as they were through out the entire duel, but when she saw the Pharaoh's hand, her eyes lit up and she reached for his hand. "Y-You're… You're finally here!"

However, the moment that her hand touched the Spirit of the Pharaoh's, the royal monster began to disappear once more. Lillian's eyes began to quiver as she sulked forward, "Why? Why?"

Before she could break down, a heavy feeling plopped down on her shoulders, and it turned out that there was a large red jacket that was covering her shoulders. When Lillian looked up, she saw Price standing in front of her – Only his red overcoat was now draped over Lillian's body and it was easy to see the black long sleeved, button up shirt he was wearing over his slim body. "Miss Rosencrantz, I have a feeling you did this little stunt to help the one who saved your life or to bring him to this realm as thanks… But let me say this. A bond is a deep connection that can never be broken, even if apart, heart and heart will always be connected, even across worlds, stages of life, or even dimensions."

Lillian turned to the side, trying to hide the blush on her face when she heard Price say that. At the same time, Price was slowly putting on his glasses and sighed loudly.

"That was pretty awesome," Mustang chuckled.

"I think I've heard these lines before," Cain muttered under his breath. "I just can't quite put my finger on where…"

"F-Fools…"

Everyone turned towards Anubis, who's body was slowly fading away from this world, heck, his arms and legs were gone from the elbows and knees. "D-Don't think for a minute… That… This is over with… You may have beaten me, but with my arrival, the floodgates will open."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Mustang questioned as he walked closer to the disappearing Anubis.

"Heh, where's the fun in that?" Anubis questioned as only his head and chest were the only parts of him in this world, and those were starting to dissipate. "I came to this world… But I'm not the only one… who has that desire."

And soon only Anubis's head remained, but was slowly disappearing. "Enjoy…"

Just like that, Anubis was gone.

"Great," Cain growled as he threw his arms behind his head. "Can we leave now? I'd like to get some sleep tonight. Even if its just an hour or so…"

Meanwhile…

"Hmm, I did not expect him to be here. But still, he has become a lot stronger if he can overcome and banish a duel spirit all on his own. I will have to keep an eye on him while I am stationed here."

And with a flutter of his cape, the mysterious DS hunter began to disappear into the darkness.

TTTTTTTT

_Time: 10:30 a.m._

"And with that, our first official class if over with," Professor Pamela announced with a warm smile on her face. "Thank you all for coming today, and be sure to keep up your reading!"

"Yes professor!"

Pamela sighed with joy as she watched the students begin to pack up their belongings to leave. She always got a natural high when she watched them all do their best in her hard class…

… Of course, they weren't the only ones who had worked hard this morning. "Professor Price, are you alright?"

Seated behind the desk with his head face down on the top of the desk was none other than Price (who was currently wearing a large red vest in place of his overcoat), his eyes were barely open behind his glasses and he had been yawning all morning. And this moment was no different, with a large yawn, Price sat up. "M-My apologies, Miss Lavivista… I was u-up all n-n-night studying the c-class's material and…"

"Aw, you poor thing," Pamela cooed with her hands brought up to her face. "Well, aside from your yawning, I think you did a good job today."

"T-Thank you," Price yawned again, tears appearing in her eyes.

"In fact, why don't you take a break?" Pamela suggested. "You've got an hour before your next class right? How about you take that time to recharge your batteries, I'll take care of any loose ends around here."

"A-Are you s-s-sure?" Price questioned. "I… I can help y-ya know…"

"Price, you're only human," Pamela responded helping Price out of the seat and began to push him out of the room along with the students. "Now, as your superior, I'm telling you to do two things. One, call me Pamela and two, take a little break."

"Uh, o-okay," Price muttered as he was pushed out into the hallway.

Price allowed a lot of the students to walk away, emptying most of the hallway. But shaving a few minutes off his time of rest wasn't going to kill Price, the exhaustion maybe… But the emptied hallways allowed Price to slowly make his way over to the breakroom…

"P-Professor Price?"

He didn't get too far from the classroom when Price stopped in his tracks when he turned around, seeing Lillian standing in the hallway with a paper bag clutched to her chest with a large blush on her face as she looked away from Price's gaze. "Oh, Miss R-R-Rosencrantz, h-how are you t-t-today?"

"… glasses…" Lillian muttered.

"W-What?" Price questioned.

"… P-Please remove y-y-you're g-g-glasses," Lillian quietly requested as her face turned a little bit redder.

"W-What? W-Why?" Price questioned a little taken back at the request.

However, before Price could get an answer, a pair of ghostly hands appeared alongside Price's head and grabbed onto the sides of Price's glasses. "W-What the?"

Price recognized the hands, they belonged to the Spirit of the Pharaoh! From what he could gather, the Spirit of the Pharaoh was standing behind Price and was pulling onto his glasses. "_My apologies Professor Price, but Lily made a request, and I feel as though…"_

"M-Miss R-Rosencrantz!" Price yelped as he grabbed his glasses, trying to keep them on his head. "P-Please, c-c-c-call him off!"

"L… Lily," Lillian replied as she walked up closer to Price. "P-Please, c-c-call me Lily, and… and I have y-your coat h-h-here…"

"T-Thank you, but, p-please w-what's going on here?" Price moaned as his grip began to slip from his glasses.

"_Well, Professor, it would seem that the same thing that happened when I saved Lily,"_ The Spirit of the Pharaoh explained, finally pulling the glasses away from Price and held it in mid-air over Price's head. "_She's become enamored with the one who saved her, and since I explained that to her when we were finally escorted to her room, she simply wants to say thanks for the evening prior to today."_

"B-But what does t-t-that have to do with my g-g-glasses?" Price yelped with his eyes closed tight.

"Y-You didn't have glasses when you helped me," Lily answered as she placed the paper bag in Price's arms. "S-S-So… I wanted to s-s-she that v-v-version of you a-a-again!"

It was at that moment that the door to the classroom opened up once more, this time allowing Pamela to enter into the hallway with a briefcase, "Oh Professor Price, you're still here and…"

That's when Pamela saw the glasses in the air, unlike Price or Lily, she couldn't see the Spirit of the Pharaoh, so all she saw was the glasses that floated in the middle of the air. For a moment, that's all she saw before her eyes lit up and a bright smile appeared on her face, "Price! Price! Price! Do you see this! There's a ghost here! A spirit! A phantom! You never told me you were haunted before!"

Tears appeared in the corners of Price's eyes, '_The things I do as a teacher…'_

TBC

**TTTTTT**

**Card Stats**

**Double Fusion / Normal Spell / Effect:** Pay 500 Life Points. Send, from your hand or your side of the field to the Graveyard, Fusion Material Monsters that are listed on a Fusion Monster Card, and Special Summon that monster from your Extra Deck. (This Special Summon is treated as a Fusion Summon.) You can use this effect up to two times this turn.

**Image:** Two polymerization images merging together.

_This card was used by Yuki Judai in the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX anime._

**Pharaoh's Advisor / Dark / LV. 2 / ATK: 0 / DEF: 0 / Zombie/Effect:** When this card is destroyed as a result of battle and you take battle damage, for every 500 points of damage you took, special summon one level 2 or lower normal Zombie-Type monster from your deck (monsters special summoned with this effect cannot be used in a Synchro Summon).

**Description:** into a spirit dressed in fancy gold and blue Egyptian robes that had a headdress of Horus atop of his head.

**Order of the Pharaoh / Continuous Spell / Effect:** This card gains the following effects if the listed cards are in either player's graveyard:

-) The First Sarcophagus: For each Zombie-Type monster in your graveyard, increase the ATK and DEF of all face up monsters on your field by 100 points.

-) The Second Sarcophagus: Face up Zombie-Type monsters on your side of the field cannot be destroyed by non-targeting effects.

-) The Third Sarcophagus: This card cannot be destroyed by spell or trap card effects.

**Image:** the Spirit of the Pharaoh standing before several Egyptian soldiers with his hand held high

**Pharaoh's Guardsman / Dark / LV. 4 / ATK: 2300 / DEF: 0 / Zombie/Fusion/Effect: **[Pharaoh's Servant + Pharaoh's Servant] As long as this card is face up on the field, your opponent cannot destroy face up Continuous Spell or Continuous Trap cards. Once per duel, while this card is in the graveyard, by removing two 'Pharaonic Protector' cards from your graveyard you may special summon this card from your graveyard.

**Description:** a large muscular Egyptian mummy dressed in golden, rusted armor that was covered with bandages draped over its mummified body while there were several spears mounted on its back whiled two were in its hands

**Pharaonic Advisor / Earth / LV. 4 / ATK: 2300 / DEF: 0 / Zombie/Fusion/Effect:** [Pharaonic Protector + Pharaonic Protector] As long as this card is face up on the field, your opponent cannot destroy Zombie-Type monster cards with non-targeting effects. Once per duel, while this card is in the graveyard, by removing two 'Pharaoh's Servant' cards from your graveyard you may special summon this card from your graveyard.

**Description:** a tall, sleek mummy dressed in long flowing purple robes with two white porcelain masks covering his face while in its wrapped hands were a pair of ankhs

**Clock Over / Continuous Spell / Effect:** When this card is activated, select one Machine-Type monster from your graveyard with 500 or less ATK. Special summon all cards with the same name of the selected monster to your side of the field in Face Up attack mode. Monsters special summoned with this card cannot attack, cannot be tributed, and cannot be used for Synchro Summon. When all three of the special summoned monsters are removed from the field, destroy this card. When this card is destroyed, destroy all special summoned monster with this card's effect.**  
>Image:<strong> A red armored warrior with a horn on its helmet standing in front of a frozen explosion.

**Cerberus Cannon / Dark / LV. 3 / ATK: 1000 / DEF: 1000 / Machine/Union:** Once per turn, during your Main Phase, if you control this monster on the field you can equip it to one Machine-Type monster as an Equip Spell card, OR change it back to a monster in face-up Attack position. When equipped to a monster by this card's effect, that monster gains 500 ATK. When the equipped monster attacks a defense position monster and attacked monster's DEF is lower than the equipped monster's ATK, inflict the difference to your opponent's life points. (A monster can only be equipped with 1 Union Monster at a time. If the equipped monster would be destroyed, this card is destroyed instead.)

**Description:** a large three headed wolf-like machine with blue and silver armor, along with three cannons mounted on its back.

**Soul Blaze / Fire / LV. 2 / ATK: 500 / DEF: 500 / Machine/Tuner:** When this card is sent to the graveyard due to a Synchro Summon, you may equip this card to a face up Synchro monster on the field. Increase the ATK and DEF of the equipped monster by 400. When the equipped monster attacks, your opponent cannot chain spell or trap cards until the end of the damage step.

**Description:** a tall masculine being made out of blue flames

**Sensou Mech – Kirin / Light / LV. 7 / ATK: 2500 / DEF: 1500 / Machine/Synchro/Effect:** [1 Machine-Type Tuner monster + 2 or more non-Tuner Machine-Type monsters] For each non-Tuner monster that was used with this card's Synchro monster, this card gains an additional attack during the battle phase. This card cannot destroy a monster with a lower level as a result of battle.

**Description:** a tall mechanical warrior with ebony colored, oriental styled armor with red trim on it and many silver wires erupting from the back of its head, making it look as though it was actually mechanical hair.

TTTTTTTT

_**It's… CLUB WEEK!**_

_**Newspaper club?**_

_**Did you hear about this?**_

_**About a mysterious phantom that roams the grounds at night?**_

_**So, what does your computer say?**_

_**-shrugs-**_

_**L-L-Let's do our b-b-best everyone!**_

_**So, this is what you do…**_

_**Don't underestimate us.**_

_**I am the Die Hard Kaiser!**_

**Next time**

_**Draw 6**_

_**Duel Academy Times**_


	7. Draw 6A: Duel Academy Times

_**The truth…**_

_**It is a wondrous thing. It is both beautiful and ugly at the same time, yet, people are always seeking it. But how do you discern which truth is the real truth? There are so many in this world, but some of them can be false.**_

_**And yes, I know that sounds like a contradiction, but since this is the first time I'm doing this sort of thing, I think you can cut me a break!**_

_**In any case, since I'm here, we're going to try to find the best truth, the one truth! Anything to help this academy! **_

_**There's only one problem…**_

… _**I need some people to join the newspaper club!**_

**TTTTTTTT**

_**Draw 6**_

_**Duel Academy Times**_

**TTTTTTTT**

_Time: 4:31 p.m._

The Ra Yellow dorm, normally a quiet place during the afternoon when classes out, with most of the students killing time either doing schoolwork or hanging out at the shops that were on the island. So, essentially, the dorm was practically a ghost town…

… Save for the fact that there was a familiar red haired girl leaned up against the yellow painted walls, her hands thrown behind her head, using her fingers to twirl the leafy tails of red hair to keep herself entertained.

Now, why was Tenri here?

Well, she was with Mustang of course! But, he was no where to be seen.

The fact of the matter is that Mustang was in the room the Tenri was standing outside of. Sure there was nothing that would stop her from entering the room. Well, nothing physical in any case, instead, it was a voluntary reason why she didn't want to follow Mustang in this room.

'_I just can't stand being in there!'_ Tenri thought with a visible shiver crawling down her spine. '_That guy he… He's just creepy. And he reminds me of that midget of Cain.'_

Inside said room, Mustang stood in the midst of the room that was lit up with several computer screens – each one displaying several numbers and pictures that were immediately replaced with other images. The sound of typing at a fast pace filled the room as Mustang stood there and watched the young man in front of him type away with his hands looking nothing more than a blur.

Seated in front of Mustang, in front of yet another computer was a young man with short brownish black hair with a slim build – Which was comparable to that a scarecrow that was dressed in black pants and a Ra Yellow uniform that hung from his body as if they were made for someone twice his meager size and height.

"… And so, that's what happened Maxie," Mustang wrapped up with his arms crossed over his chest. "What do you think?"

The young man in front of the computer screen immediately spun around and looked to Mustang, his hand at his chin. "First, its either Max or Maxwell, we've been over this several times."

"Whatever you say Maxie," Mustang stated with a shrug of his shoulders, making Maxwell sigh loudly in return. "In any case, I want to hear your opinion about this matter. The End of Anubis…"

"Fiend-type," Maxwell spoke out. "Dark-attribute, level six monster with twenty-five hundred attack points and zero defense points. Effect: As long as this card remains face-up on the field, all effects of Spell, Trap, and Monster Cards that target a card(s) in the graveyard or that activate in the Graveyard are negated."

"… Right, that's the specs of its card," Mustang replied with a bead of sweat rolling down the side of his head. "But what's more important is that the very same monster you just listed appeared in this world, and what's more, he said that there will be more of him going to appear. What I'm getting at is that there might be more Duel Spirits appearing on this island…

"So, what I'm getting at is I want to know if there are any rumors on the DA boards that might be somewhat like this?"

"Mustang, you know that I would help you," Maxwell retorted as he spun back around in his seat to turn back to his computer. "But duel spirits? Even I don't think that…"

Before Maxwell could continue, Mustang sighed loudly, "I don't expect you to believe what I saw. All I ask is that you work your technical magic across the duel academia forums."

"… I don't know," Maxwell muttered with his gaze turning away from his computer screen. "I do have some other work to accomplish and…"

"Adrian York," Mustang stated immediately as he reached into his sleeves, a few moments later, Mustang pulled out what appeared to be a small photo that he held up in between his fingers.

"A-A-A-A…" Maxwell stuttered loudly as some steam popped from the top of his head. "Queen of Raging Nature – Earth Attribute, Beast-Type, level eight monster with twenty-seven attack points and two thousand defense, flavor text: Although a striking beauty, this lovely beast will not hesitate to strike for the sake of righteousness."

"By that I'll take that you're asking why I brought her name up, right?" Mustang questioned as he waved the photo in between his fingers a few times as he slowly walked up to behind Maxwell. "Well, seeing as how you react like that for a few select reasons, I believe I've garnered your attention. Well, I happen to have a little bit of savory information that you might be interested in, my fine informant.

"If you agree to do this one little favor, I'll not only give you the information about that certain red duelist that I have, but I'll also give you this very interesting picture of said student that I managed to acquire."

As soon as Mustang said 'interesting picture' Maxwell's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Mustang, coming from you that could easily translate into 'Something capable of labeling me as either a stalker or a pervert for the rest of my natural life'. I'd like to think I can wait a few more years before resigning myself to that particular circle of Hell."

With a playful smirk, Mustang slowly lowered the picture to in front of Maxwell's eyes, immediately making them bug out. And almost on a time delayed mechanism, a large amount of blood spurted from Maxwell's nose, "D-Damn you…"

Maxwell tried to look away from the picture, but his eyes kept roving back to the picture before he sighed loudly and hung his head in defeat. And gently, Maxwell lifted his hand up, "What will it be then?"

"Wow, I've only seen that in manga and anime," Mustang admitted blinking a few times as he took the photo away and began to write on the back of it. "I didn't think it was possible to get a bloody nose like that in real life!

"In any case, just do your usual hacking magic on the forums around DA's website, including locked forums for the info I'm looking for. When ya do, drop me a line."

Mustang laughed as he tossed the photo over his shoulder and onto the desk behind him. "Thanks for your business and try not to die from blood loss."

As the paper began to fall through the air, Maxwell snatched it out of midair before giving a two fingered salute towards Mustang, "Oui, mon caption! If so much as a mention of someone cosplaying as a Duel Monster shows up you'll be the first to know!"

That's when the sound of clashing swords drew Maxwell's and Mustang's attentions to another screen as Maxwell swiveled around in his chair. "Oh you did NOT just try and ambush me in the middle of reaching level forty nine you opportunistic sunuva…"

Mustang sighed - He knew that Maxwell usually got drawn into his online MMORPGs, which made his awareness of the world around him shrink considerably. "Oh yes, there was one more thing…"

"Make it fast," Maxwell retorted as his fingers continued to dance across the keyboard. "My Mana's running low and this guy just summoned a truckload of goblins!"

Mustang smirked wildly, "I want you to join the newspaper club I'm starting. We could use a man of your 'talents' in information gathering and…"

Maxwell groaned loudly as his online character died before he swiveled towards Mustang again. "Basically you need someone who has little to no social life and can focus almost obsessively on fetching anything pertaining to any of the five different ulterior motives that you've likely got starting a club, is that it?"

Blinking a few times, Mustang shrugged his shoulders. "I wasn't going to be so insulting… But yeah."

Maxwell sighed loudly. "Lucky for you, I seem to be more than capable of doing that to myself."

As Maxwell sat back into his chair, the geeky student looked at the small mountains of empty ramen cups, soda bottles and game boxes. "Aw what the hell, maybe seeing the light of day a bit more often will do me some good. If I spend too much time staring at a computer screen like this…"

Maxwell tried to stand up, however, his eyes began to blur and he fell from his seat, face first into the ground. "I might start to have eyesight problems…"

"Maybe you should try eating more vegetables," Mustang answered as he prodded Maxwell's side a few times with his foot. "Some that aren't floating around in a broth."

"NEVER!" Maxwell hissed loudly. "All that is green and leafy is the spawn of the devil!"

Mustang couldn't help but sweatdrop at this student's outburst.

TTTTTTTT

_Time: 4:45 p.m._

_Location: Duel Academia Card Shop – Caterwaul _

Price sighed loudly as he wiped some sweat from his brow, the preceding week was certainly tiring to him. Not only did he have his own classes to teach, but he had to help out with Professor Pamela's as well. There was more than work related stress to deal with though, all through out the week, Price was being bugged by a certain Spirit of an Egyptian ruler who was trying to steal his glasses – All the while finding a bunch of homemade lunchboxes addressed to him in the professors' break room.

He was pretty sure who was sending them.

But the most tiring was the activity that he was doing right now, it was so stressful that he had opted to remove his overcoat as well as his buttoned up shirt, leaving him in just the black sleeveless shirt and his pants… Of course, he would've preferred to have kept those on, especially since there was another underlying factor.

"Oh my, Megane-kun," Hibiki purred as she ran a hand over Price's back, sending a chill up his spine. "You never told me you had such a fine physique."

"N-Ne… H-H-Hibiki-tan," Price yelped as he struggled to hold up the sign above his head. "C-C-C-C-Can you p-please s-stop that? W-We need to p-put up this s-s-sign. I-I can't h-hold it f-for too much l-longer."

"Oh, I don't believe that at all," Hibiki giggled with a lick of her lips. "You've been hiding those muscles on me, haven't you? Ooh, I never knew that you could be so… Mini GAR!"

At the moment, the card shop was currently closed. The reason for this was because of the set up that needed to take place before tomorrow – There were several booths with fliers, large signs, and even some cardboard cutouts of some famous Duel Monsters. At the moment, the only ones in the shop were Price and Hibiki – Unless you counted the cardboard cut out of the Dark Magician Girl – and were currently trying to put the last sign up near the entrance of the card shop.

Although, with the way that Hibiki was having fun with the easily flustered, new professor, it looked like that task was miles away from being completed. "P-Please H-Hi-Hibiki-tan! I… I can't h-h-hold it f-f-for much l-l-longer!"

"Awe, you're no fun," Hibiki pouted as she lifted up a hammer from the ground and slowly began to climb the nearby ladder that was used earlier for other signs.

A few minutes and nails later…

"There, done!" Hibiki cheered as she dusted off her hands.

Price on the other hand was exhausted! He was seated on the floor, trying to catch his breath. '_I… I don't m-m-m-mind helping b-b-but…'_

Price's thought was interrupted when he felt something cold up against his forehead, making him jump slightly until he realized that it was a water bottle that Hibiki held out to him. With a meek smile, Price took the water bottle before Hibiki sat next to him on the ground. "T-Thank you."

"Aw, that stuttering of yours is so cute," Hibiki mewed as she poked the side of Price's slightly red face. "So tell me, how's the professor life treating you, megane-kun?"

"W-Well, it's a l-little more s-s-stressful than I'd l-like," Price answered as he uncapped the water bottle. '_And that's when there isn't a ghostly spirit trying to steal my glasses while a girl seems to have become my official stalker.'_

"Ah, that's just cause you're new," Hibiki snickered as Price took a swig from the water bottle. "Sides, with the way you're helping me out, I don't think it'll be too hard for you get adjusted."

"M-Maybe, b-b-but I'm n-now representing a c-c-club," Price sighed again with his head lowered slightly. "A-And I have n-no idea how to…"

"Is that's what making ya worry?" Hibiki questioned with a lick of her lips. "If you're worried about being here tomorrow, you should've just asked me! I represent a club as well!"

"Y-You do?" Price questioned with his glasses sliding down his nose slightly before he pushed them back up. "W-What kind of c-c-club do you r-r-run?"

"Oh, well, you could call it an art club of sorts," Hibiki answered with a little bit of a blush on her face. "More of a manga-ka in the making club."

"You draw comics?" Price asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You could call them that," Hibiki replied as she turned away slightly. "But… I would probably show them off to someone who had a certain taste. So, I wouldn't recommend them to you… Although, if you wanted to be a character in one of the comics, I wouldn't disagree with that."

"Um, okay?" Price answered, a little confused with what Hibiki just said.

"Ooh! Most excellent!" Hibiki cooed loudly as she drew a finger along Price's shoulder. "We'll have to meet some time so I can do some modeling of you. I think you'd be perfect as an evil genius character… Or, ooh! I know, you can be an emo styled elf! Elves are totally in at the moment! And I can set you in Las Vegas with a bunch of other awesome characters, I can totally see you as…"

Price couldn't help but sweat drop as he slowly began to ignore Hibiki's rant and ideas, thinking about his own predicament. Sure he was glad that his students were safe, but now he had another responsibility to deal with – Managing a club. Mustang didn't really tell Price anything about what he wanted his club to be about, other than it being a newspaper club. But, from the sounds of it, it sounded like it might be easy to understand…

… But then again, there was one factor that worried Price.

Mustang.

He had no idea why Mustang wanted to start this club, he didn't even know if it was possible to print an academy newspaper just like that. Well, unless Mustang just wanted to do a blog or something like that, but then that wouldn't be a newspaper club and…

"… And I'll make sure to get lots of awesome costumes for you to try!" Hibiki cheered loudly, which had knocked Price from his train of thought. "What do you think?"

Unsure of what Hibiki had been saying for the past couple of minutes, Price could do the one thing that all men who didn't pay attention to a woman talking. "Uh… S-Sure, s-s-sounds good?"

"Yay!" Hibiki mewed loudly as she wrapped her arms around Price's body, making the young professor's face light up red as a stop light. "Ooh, Megane-kun! You're so awesome! How's next Friday evening sound?"

"Uh, I'd h-h-have to check my s-s-s-schedule," Price muttered as his eyes turned away from Hibiki. "But, I-I-I don't see w-w-why not…"

"Thank you!" Hibiki giggled as she turned to the side with a catty grin on her face. "Let's see, I think I'll start with Edgeworth, then maybe go with Griffith, next Xerxes, Kurama, Kanda, and maybe… Ooh! Hideyoshi! That'd be awesome to see!"

'_Dear lord in heaven, what did I just agree to?'_ Price questioned as he tried to remember why those names sounded familiar to him. The first one sounded familiar…

"Well, well, well, who do we have here?" A strong masculine voice laughed loudly, making Price jump from his seat from the floor and land on his back.

"Urk!" Price gagged.

However, since he was on his back, he was able to see who had surprised him – Dressed in a black martial arts gi with a fiery apron draped around his waist. "Hmm, such energy, perhaps you'd be a fine addition to the physical education department."

"P-Professor Kudo… Right?" Price questioned as he slowly pushed himself off of the ground.

"Please, that's too stuffy of a title for me," Kudo laughed with his arms crossed. "Please, feel free to call me Kudo or Kimchi, either one suits me!"

"Oh great, what do you want?" Hibiki questioned with a large bead of sweat rolling down the side of her head.

"I'd retract those claws of yours, kitten," Kudo snickered. "I've only com here to do a proper introduction to the new guy, although to be honest, my original recipe for coming here was to make sure the booths that I'm in charge of are all set for tomorrow. I figured that since you two were here as well, it would be rude of me not to at least say hello.

"Besides, like I said, this is the first time I've met Mr. Price here, and like a good meal, the first time it hits the taste buds is the most important moment."

"Ugh," Hibiki sighed as she lowered her head slightly.

"Uh, w-w-well, n-nice to meet you," Price chuckled sheepishly as he held his hand out to Kudo.

Big mistake.

The moment that Kudo had wrapped his hand around Price's, the fiery dressed professor squeezed tightly on Price's hand, making his eyes bug out in pain! It was almost as if Price was shaking hands with a vicegrip that was aiming to crush his bones. And just as he was about to yelp out in pain, Kudo released his grip and laughed loudly, "And it is a pleasure to meet you as well Price! I look forward to working with you in the future! Now, if you excuse me, I must be heading back to the Ra Yellow dorm, I also act as that dorm's chef, and I mustn't keep the hungry students a waiting!"

With a loud laugh, Kudo quickly made his way out of the shop, leaving Price to wince at his crushed hand while Hibiki smirked like a cat, "Yeah, I know, guy's got the strength of a bear, as well as the control of one. But he's a damn good cook, the only reason why I can stand him is because he makes a lot of good sushi for the teachers and faculty every now and then."

"Gargh!" Price yelped as he held his hand up into the air.

TTTTTTT

_Time: 10:31 p.m._

It was a quiet evening on the island of Duel Academia, a dark night with the moon hiding behind a cover of clouds, completely overcoming the entire island in darkness. It was the perfect time for a certain masked man to walk the island with a smile plastered on his face.

"Tis a sin to not see the moon on a night this beautiful," The masked man sighed as he slowly walked the school grounds. "Still, I wouldn't have a chance to fully enjoy it. No rest for the weary, and as long there's a stray spirit around here, I'm obligated to stay."

Stopping, the man lifted his hand free from his cloak and lifted it up to his ear, trying to listen into anything that might be what he was looking for. But there was nothing.

With a shrug of his shoulders, the masked man spun on his heels and looked around. "Hmm… Still nothing. And as much as I love a midnight stroll, I do need my beauty sleep."

And just as he was about to walk away, the man stopped and turned towards the right, looking directly at the wall of trees that was in front of him. "Oh my."

Slowly, the masked man walked through the trees, with an air of grace he dodged and ducked the branches of the trees until he was standing at the edge of an opening in the woods. Remaining silent, the masked man merely crossed his arms under his cloak as he watched the scene unfold in front of him.

For in the middle of clearing was two people, both of them close together in a tight embrace. From where the masked man was standing, he could tell that there was a guy and a girl, the girl obviously dressed in a Ra Yellow uniform, and she was breathing heavily.

The man himself was more eye-catching and even with his back, the masked man could still see a few of the man's features – He had silver hair that stood straight up from his head and had a large black cloak that looked to be made of some sort of membrane making it look like bat wings that rested on the ground.

The man's head moved slightly, and the girl moaned even louder with her head thrown back a little further. The masked man tilted his head slightly and rubbed his chin, '_My, my, my… If this was anyone else but me, they would think that these were just a pair of youngsters experimenting. _

'_But I'm not like everyone else.'_

"Excuse moi," The masked man chuckled as he slowly walked out from his hiding spot in the bushes, making the older man lift his head up in surprise. "But could I bother you for a few moments?"

The man spun around, the Ra Yellow girl still in his arms, and he leered at the masked man who had just called out to him. The masked man in question quirked an eyebrow (not that anyone could tell with his mask) at the sight before him, the silver haired man had his teeth sunk into the girl's neck, a few streams of blood dripping from her neck and onto her uniform top. The man's skin was so pale that he looked as if he wasn't among the living and he had his arms wrapped around the girl's body, holding her close to his body.

The pale man slurped greedily as his teeth sunk a little bit deeper into the girl's neck, making her moan once more. The masked man crossed his arms and smirked, "Well now, and here I thought vampires were supposed to sparkle…"

The pale man released his bite and hissed loudly at the masked man, blood dripping from the long teeth that lined his mouth. "Leave… Now…"

"My apologies in advance then," The masked man chuckled as he pulled a hand from his cloak and waved his finger a few times. "But as a noble gentleman, I cannot allow you do this to a young lady… Especially considering that I know what you truly are."

The pale skinned man hissed loudly before he threw the knocked out Ra Yellow girl towards the masked man. As he said, the noble masked man caught the girl, which allowed the pale skinned man to leap up into the air and disappear into a black blur.

The masked man sighed loudly as he looked at the knocked out girl, her breathing calm and the blood that was around her neck completely dried now. "I can't be a gentleman if I leave this girl like this. I suppose I could try to find the big, bad bat tomorrow."

Looking up into the sky, the masked man shook his head and slowly began to walk towards the woods with the girl in his arms.

TTTT- The Next Day…TTTT

Friday morning, normally at this time all of the students would be in their classrooms, however, today was a different story.

"Everyone! Join the Cosplay Club!"

"If you join the science club, we promise to throw in a free lab coat and subscription to Science Monthly!"

"Mrrrow! Please join the Y-Manga club!"

Inside the card shop, the previously empty booths that lined the walls of the card shop the day before were filled to the brim with the many students who were promoting their own clubs with the professors and faculty with their own clubs or around the area to keep the peace. The students who weren't affiliated with the clubs, walked around the booths, trying to find the club of their own choosing…

One of which was a man destined to be king!

"Clubs, eh?" Eiji questioned as he walked past the booths, trying to find a club that was destined to get him to the top quick (or at least find some people he could use as stepping stones to get him to the top). Of course, with clubs like the Cosplay Club, Seto Kaiba Club (which essentially had mostly girls who were dressed up as the famous duelist), or the Jogging Club, Eiji was certainly not interested in most of the clubs that he was viewing.

Heck the only reason why he even bothered coming to the club selection was walking in front of him, taking a flyer from everyone who he passed.

"Thanks for showing an interest in the cooking club!"

"My pleasure!" Tengoku chuckled as he fitted the flyer with the large stack of other flyers he had in his hand. "Wow, so my prospective clubs to join! I love the cosplay club and the cooking club…"

"Why are we even here?" Eiji interrupted with a dulled look in his eyes.

Tengoku stopped in his tracks and with a loud sigh he turned around and wagged a finger at Eiji, "Oh my poor deluded friend, if you're supposed to be a king, then you cannot rule alone my friend. You need allies and these clubs are the perfect places to find said allies, so, I intend on joining as many as possible!

"So, I suggest that you do the same thing my friend!"

Eiji sighed loudly, and looked around the nearby clubs – The Auto-Shop club, Nature Walkers club, Newspaper club that had Professor Price standing behind the stand… Wait, what?

Alright, there was one club that he knew he wasn't going to join, not in a million years! '_I wonder if there's a bug club here.'_

Meanwhile, back at the newspaper club booth…

"I have to say Professor Price, you surprise me," Hund admitted with a rub of his chin. "I never expected to see you take the responsibility of a club, at least not in your first year here."

"W-Well, there were s-s-s-some," Price mumbled with his words, rubbing the back of his head as he tried to speak to the more experienced professor. "… C-Circumstances t-t-that required m-my attention, and, and I-I felt that it m-m-might be a g-g-good w-w-way to get c-c-close with the s-s-students."

Hund raised an eyebrow at Price's answer, and slowly turned his gaze over to the right, seeing Mustang standing in front of the booth, talking to a pair of younger Osiris Red girls, explaining the reasoning behind the Newspaper Club. It didn't take too much thought for Hund to figure out the reasoning behind Price's sudden choice in sponsoring a club.

However, this was Price's business, and that meant that Hund had no obligation to stick his nose into this unless Price requested it. "In any case, I must applaud you for your efforts. And I wish you the best of luck, I have my own clubs to turn to, so please try to set a good example for students."

"YY-Y-Yes sir," Price stuttered as the older professor walked away. With a loud sigh, Price turned towards Mustang just as he was bidding farewell to the two girls (who were blushing and giggling as they walked past). "S-So, were those g-g-girls interested?"

"Hmm?" Mustang questioned, as he slipped a couple pieces of paper into his overcoat's pocket. "Well, they weren't interested in the club, but they certainly were interested in me." 

Price sighed loudly as he hung his head low in defeat. "G-Great…"

"Tell you what, professor," Mustang laughed loudly as he crossed his arms. "How about you leave this here for me, and you can take a break. Once we get the booth closed for the day, I'll give you a call and we hold a meeting with our members."

"But, are y-you sure y-you can h-handle all that?" Price questioned. "I… I mean t-t-that I d-d-don't want t-t-to leave you to…"

"I wouldn't have offered if I couldn't do this on my own," Mustang answered as he crossed his arms. "So go on, I'll call you back to the club room when this gets over with, get yourself a coffee or something like that."

"W-Well, if you're s-s-sure," Price muttered before Mustang walked up to him and pushed the young professor away from the stand.

"Of course I'm sure!" Mustang laughed before he pushed Price away. "Now go on! Get!"

Price blinked a few times behind his glasses, but with a shrug, the new professor slowly walked away with Mustang smirking at some of the students who had appeared at the booth for the newspaper club.

**TTT~ A couple of hours later…~TTT**

"I told ya we'd get some members," Mustang chuckled as he held up his arm in the room that was reserved for the newspaper club, which at the moment was a little bare save for the table that had the few members of the club seated around it. "And here they are!"

Price was a little surprised by a few of the faces that he saw… And a number of them confused him.

The first one who caught his eye was that short, white haired duelist – known as Cain Sonryu, seated atop of the table with his short legs kicking over the side of the table in boredom. It wasn't hard for Price to notice the short duelist first, he was the closet to the door.

Slowly, Price's gaze shifted to the right, where he saw the second member of the club – And his blood immediately froze on sight! It was Lily! The same Lily that had been stalking Price for the past week or so! And behind her stood the transparent Spirit of the Pharaoh (Price figured that no one else in the room could see the ghostly Pharaoh), with his arms crossed. All the while, Lily was smiling at Price with a warm smile plastered on her face.

With a cold sweat rolling down the side of his head, Price felt his blood heat up slightly at the sight of the next member of the newly established club, but his face was slightly red when he saw York seated near the back of the table, trying to look over the shoulder of another member of the club who was furiously typing at a laptop (Price didn't know it, but this was Maxwell, the pale Ra Yellow duelist that Mustang had met with the day prior to this).

And the final member that Price saw in the room, was Tenri – who was leaning back in her chair with a pencil balancing atop of her upper lip. While her gaze was dulled and bored, the girl didn't seem too thrilled about being here in the club room.

So, Price slowly turned towards Mustang and chuckled sheepishly, "Is… Is this all?"

"Yeah, but its all good!" Mustang answered back with his thumb pointed up. "Once we get this newspaper rolling, we'll be able to get tons of other members to join us!"

"If… If you s-s-say so," Price muttered as he walked into the room and closed the door behind him. "Um, I… I suppose I s-s-should say something…"

"Nah, you don't have to worry about that," Mustang stated with his arms crossed. "I already explained what our paper's goal is – To get the truth of any mysteries on this island and give the answers to the students as quick as possible!"

"Oh," Price muttered again with his head lower.

"Yeah, yeah," Cain sighed loudly with his eyes narrowed down on Mustang. "That's all well and good, you chavenistic egomaniac. But what mysteries are you talking about? This is a high school, albeit its one on an island…"

"Don't insult my dear Mustang!" Tenri hissed loudly as she sat up straight. And almost immediately, Tenri smirked devilishly at the scarf wearing Obelisk Blue. "Besides, you and Mustang should know more about this island and what rumors float around it, you're both Blue students, Mustang's a third year, and you're a second year – Albeit a shrimp of a second year…"

"You lousy," Cain snarled loudly with his teeth barred out at the Osiris Red girl.

"N-Now now," Price commented with his hands raised up. "Y-you're all in t-t-t-the same c-c-club now, f-f-fighting amongst your s-s-selves."

"Teach is right!" York announced with a large smile on the muscular girl's face. "We're a team now! Fighting won't get any of us anywhere!"

Lily scoffed under her breath at York's loud voice.

"Now that's the kind of gung-ho attitude that the Duel Academia Times needs!" Mustang announced with his arms crossed over his chest. "In any case, since I'm aiming to start our newspaper next week, we've got the rest of the day and weekend to find a story. But, we've got someone in here who can make finding a story easier than finding a bull in a china shop!"

"I-I don't think that's h-h-h-how that s-s-saying goes," Price muttered out loud with a bead of sweat rolling down the side of his head.

Mustang either didn't hear Price or didn't care what the professor had said, cause he just walked around the table and held his hand up towards the Ra Yellow student who was typing furiously on his laptop. "So, I'd like you all to meet our resident internet searcher – Maxie!"

With a loud sigh, Maxwell lifted his head up from his screen and narrowed his eyes at Mustang. "Maxwell."

"Maxie here has been searching our Duel Academia's online forums," Mustang explained with a large smirk on his face. "Cause while the internet may be killing off the newspaper business, we can use the internet to bring life to our newspaper! On the forums, there are countless rumors that fly around, each of them concerning the professors, the dorms, or anything that can catch people's attentions.

"I want to find the truth behind these rumors and bring the facts in the light to each and every student on this island. So, little Maxie, what rumors do you have for me that we can investigate?"

"… Uh, well," Maxwell stated as he made a few clicks on his laptop, he brought up a few web pages on his laptop. "Most of the forum posts are talking about our sponsoring professor – Rowen Price."

"M-Me?" Price stuttered with an exclamation point appearing over his head. "But… But…"

"The topics that are most discussed concerning him," Maxwell continued. "Are as followed – The first is how mysterious you are, after all you're a new professor, and aside from your physical stats, you're a complete mystery. The second is your deck, so far, there have been three instances when your actual deck was recorded for a duel, but there were barely any witnesses to your duels… Save for your opponents."

"And I prefer to not expose a duelist's abilities," York interrupted with a nod of her head. "It was an honorable duel, and I could not call myself a duelist!"

Maxwell's face went a little red when he heard York make that proclamation. "Y-Yeah… T-That's a good p-policy."

"I've seen Professor Rowen's deck," Lily stated with a warm smile on her face. "It's quite a surprising twist to see him play cards like that – I kinda expected to see him play spellcasters or elves… Or something like that."

Cain rolled his eyes. "Next, I don't wanna stay here for too much longer – What the next top rumor? And it better not concern the stuttering Professor over here."

"Hey!" both York and Lily hissed loudly at Cain, making the short duelist blink a few times. "Don't insult him!"

"Yeesh, it wasn't an insult," Cain muttered under his breath. '_More like a general observation…'_

"Well, the second most popular is…" Maxwell stopped as he looked at the screen, taking a few moments to read the posts he had up. "… Is about a vampire."

"I thought that Team Edward stuff died off years ago?" Tenri pointed out with a loud sigh. "Vampires sparkling is so… So retro. And it makes no sense."

"I was personally more on Team Jacob," Lily admitted, unaware that Spirit of the Pharaoh sighed to himself, remembering the obsession of year's past. "But, I got over it… They're just actors, and this is real life."

"I never saw the appeal," York stated with a shrug.

"This isn't about a number of fandom films!" Mustang announced with a large blood vessel appearing on the side of his head. "… Um, this isn't about that one franchise, right?"

"Of course not," Maxwell stated with a large bead of sweat rolling down the side of his head. "I'm not talking about second-rate teen heart-throbs, I'm talking about reports of an actual vampire appearing on the island. At least, that's what the students are saying.

"For the last four days, there have been four separate occasions where four girls have been abducted at night, and found hours later knocked out and with what appears to be bite marks around their necks. Two girls were from Obelisk Blue who were trying to get some materials for a project, one was an Osiris Red girl who had gotten lost, and the latest was found last night – A Ra Yellow girl who was trying to sneak off to meet with her boyfriend."

"… So, what? We got a vampire version of Mustang roaming around?" Cain questioned with a dulled look on his face. "This is a crisis, I don't think this island could take two womanizers and their large egos."

"I happen to be an evangelist of love," Mustang pointed out with annoyed look on his face.

"I'll second that!" Tenri announced cheerfully.

"Besides, I don't bite people," Mustang huffed with his arms crossed. "Now then, this mystery seems to be perfect for our first headliner!"

"So, wait, don't we need to assign roles?" Cain questioned. "Like having an editor, a person to critique the work, and someone who's actually good at making a paper for…"

"Details, details," Mustang laughed loudly with a large smile on his face. "I can easily get us the materials that we need to make a successful paper, and I figure while some of us go after this little rumor, the rest of the group can do the assignment process of jobs for our club…"

"I call dibs on chief editor," Cain sighed loudly as he jumped off of the table and onto the ground.

"Oh?" Mustang questioned with a raised eyebrow. "And what brought this on? Are you finally starting to take interest in our little club?"

"Not really," Cain answered quickly and bluntly. "I just feel the need that I'd rather keep my sanity, and since you twisted my arm to join this damn club, the only way to make sure that I keep my sanity is to be in charge of this stupid fiasco."

"Well, I have no problems with that," Mustang replied with a large smile. "I prefer to be a writer anyway, maybe a photographer. But this is neither the place or time to discuss such things!"

"A-A-Actually, it's the p-p-p-perfect…" Price started to say with a large bead of sweat rolling down the side of his head.

"I'll call dibs to go with Mustang to find this vampire!" Tenri announced with a large catty smirk on its face.

"Hmm, an excellent companion," Mustang announced with a wag of his finger. "Now, I'd like one more person to come with us to solve this mystery, the rest of you I'd like you all to come up with a format with our paper – The Duel Academia Times. Shorty, I know you'll do the best you can do for this.

"Come you two! We've got some investigating to do!"

Price blinked a few times when he realized that Mustang had grabbed the young professor by the side of his sleeve, "H-Huh?"

Before the professor could say a word, Mustang had dragged Price out of the room with Tenri following the two out into the hallway, which left the rest of the newspaper club just sitting in that room with confused looks on a few of their faces.

**TTTTTTT**

_Time: 3:31 p.m._

_Location: Duel Academia Card Shop – Caterwaul_

It had been a few hours since the start of club selection, and while there were quite a few students still looking around the booths, some of the clubs were still recruiting students. But still, the shop was open for the students to buy and sell cards (and other items of interest), there was even an area set aside that would allow some people to enjoy a nice, cold drink…

… As long as they bought something other than a soda.

"S-So, w-w-why did I h-h-have to buy t-t-these packs?" Price chuckled sheepishly as he looked at the pile of packs he had just bought in order to just get a table for him, Mustang and Tenri.

"Cause we need to discuss our method of finding that vampire," Mustang answered as he spun the unopened can of soda atop of his finger. "And I didn't want to really bug those guys about the details while they do their work on the paper…"

"W-W-Well, s-s-shouldn't I be m-monitoring that w-w-work?" Price questioned. "I… I mean, I am t-t-t-the…"

"Don't concern yourself with that," Tenri interrupted with a wave of her hand. "I'm sure that little midget will keep them in check, his attitude usually does a good job of that. Besides, he's able to get things done quite easily… That's one of the few good traits of that white headed jerk."

"Okay, okay, take it easy," Mustang stated with his hands lifted up. "There's no need to keep insulting him…"

"Y-Yes, it is q-q-quite rude," Price pointed out.

"And it's a lot more fun to see his reaction when you see him," Mustang added nonchalantly, which made Price lower his head slightly. "In any case, about this vampire, we need to find a way to get information on it. And since this guy appears at night, in case we have to do something at night, I'd rather have a sensible adult with us."

"Oh, I… I see," Price muttered with a large bead of sweat appearing on the side of his head.

"So, what are we going to do?" Tenri asked, looking at the water bottle in her hand. "Are we going to try to find those four girls and interview them?"

"Nah, I talked to Maxie before the meeting about the subject," Mustang explained before he took a quick sip from his soda. "He checked and checked, but the girls were all kept anonymous, the only ones who would know are the headmistresses… And unless you wanna deal with both Machi and Pamela…"

"No thank you!" Tenri yelped as she nearly dropped her water bottle in the process. "I'd rather not deal with the raging tiny and the airhead!"

Price stifled a little snicker, he shouldn't be laughing at his fellow professors, but still…

"If that's the case," Mustang replied with a smirk on his face. "We should go right to the source of this mystery – That Twilight reject!"

There was a small moment of silence as Price and Tenri shared a look between each other, but then, Price slowly lifted his hand up gingerly – Which caught Mustang's attention, "Yes! Question?"

"… H-How are we g-g-g-going to do that?" Price asked straight forward.

"How else? Stake out," Mustang answered with a nod of his head. "We'll catch the sucker in the act, we've got tonight and the next two days to try to catch this guy in the act."

"And how do you intend to catch him in the act?" Tenri questioned with a dull look on her face. "Cause, you may be cute Mustang, but I'm not risking my neck with some vampire freak…"

"I wasn't going to suggest using you as bait Tenri," Mustang chuckled sheepishly with his hands held up defensively. "I was planning on using something a bit more… Interesting."

Question marks appeared over both Price's and Tenri's heads, making them blink a few times. The second awkward silence was suddenly shattered when a familiar voice cooed out to the trio, "Yoohoo! Megane-kun! Mustang-Sama and… Girl who I don't know!"

Tenri face faulted as Hibiki walked up to the table, that catty grin plastered over her face, "I managed to get a break finally, so, what'd you want to talk about Mustang-sama?"

"Oh, M-Mustang, n-no," Price stuttered, his mind already putting the pieces together.

"Relax professor," Mustang replied with a warm smile on his face. "I have another plan in mind… Now, Tenri, I want you to relax for a while, I'll come pick you up and take you to where we'll be stationed for the night."

"Aw, I don't get a choice in the matter?" Tenri pouted.

"I'll bring you some strawberry pocky to snack on for tonight," Mustang offered with a sly smirk on his face.

"Okay!" Tenri chirped as she happily skipped away from the table.

"Wow, that was easy," Hibiki admitted.

"What can I say?" Mustang replied with a shrug. "I know the girl well…"

"W-Wait, what about t-t-those other girls who g-g-gave you their n-numbers?" Price questioned with a few question marks popping over his head. "Isn't M-Miss Tenri your g-g-girlfriend?"

"It's… Complicated," Mustang answered back. "In any case, Hibiki-tan, I'm so glad that you've agreed to help in this matter!"

"Don't forget, my services aren't cheap," Hibiki replied coyly with her arms crossed. "As per our deal, you've gotta let me come along and I get to take plenty of pictures."

"But of course," Mustang snickered. "After all, what's life without a little pleasure? Dull and boring!"

Price tilted his head slightly, his eyes blinking a few times at the conversation that the two were having in front of him. "Um… W-What does this have to do with m-me?"

It was at that moment, that Price felt a chill race down his spine – For the moment that both Mustang's and Hibiki's gazes fell onto the new professor, he could feel the evil that was seeping from their eyes…

**TTTTTTTT**

_Time: 10:31 p.m._

_Location: Duel Academia Woods, near Osiris Red Dorm_

Once again, the night's sky was clouded, completely blanketing the island in a veil of darkness that added a touch of mystery to the island's charm. The woods at this night were no different, save for the occasional flash of light that lit up through the shrubbery. "Ooooh! This is good… So good!"

All the while, through those woods, a familiar duo was walking through the shrubs, almost reaching the area where the flashes of light where popping up. "So, Mustang, what's this big plan you've got cooped up?"

Mustang spun around, and began to walk backwards so he could face Tenri, "Well… It's kind of a surprise, if I tell ya, then the surprise will be ruined, now won't it?"

"I guess so," Tenri pouted slightly as she walked alongside Mustang and latched onto his arm. "So, how much longer till we get there?"

"Not too much longer, like about five minutes," Mustang answered quickly and clearly.

~_Four Minutes Later~_

"Mmm, I was wondering when you two would get here," Hibiki purred, not turning away from where she was looking at – Which was a clearing that had a shadowed figure standing in the middle of it.

Mustang nodded towards Tenri with his finger lifted up to his lips, telling her to remain quiet. The red head nodded again and looked towards the clearing, a little curious about the figure that was walking around in circles in the small clearing.

Slowly, the clouds above began to pull away, allowing the moonlight to trickle down onto the clearing – And in the middle of the clearing stood a tall, if not sleek young woman with long blonde hair that had a bow on the side. Her sleek body was covered in a more frilly Osiris Red uniform, with a longer skirt and cut off sleeves on her arms. From where Tenri stood, she could see that the girl was wearing a pair of large glasses that covered her eyes and there was a large blush on her sharp face.

But, there was something odd about this girl… She seemed, familiar. But Tenri never saw a girl like that in Osiris Red before at the dorm. "Who's that?"

"… Let's say… Just a friend," Mustang whispered under his breath. "Now, we play the waiting game…"

~Thirty-three minutes later…~

Hibiki waved her camera a few times, a little bored of taking pictures.

Mustang was flipping a coin through his fingers, just killing time as he watched the mysterious girl walk about through the clearing.

And Tenri…

"Wait, where's Price?" Tenri questioned, trying to find out where the Osiris Red professor was.

However, before Mustang or Hibiki could answer, a large dark shadow erupted over the mysterious girl's body. A moment later, an extremely tall and intimidating man stood over the girl's body, his silver hair glistening in the moonlight while his long midnight blue cloak covered his entire body. The man's eyes gazed right into the girl's glasses and he stepped forward slowly, "A flower of the night, truly you would bloom to true beauty…"

The girl stepped backwards slightly as the man took another step towards her, "Now, don't be shy… One little bite will not kill you."

The pale man smiled, revealing the long fangs in his mouth. "Let us partake in a crimson carnival in this delectable moonlight, only for a moment it will hurt."

That was when the pale skinned man dashed forward and wrapped his arm around the girl's waist and held her at an angle. Slowly, the man brought his mouth closer to the girl's neck…

WHAM!

"URK!" The man staggered backwards with a noticeable bruise on his face and making him stagger backwards.

And when the man stood up to gather himself, he realized that a large amount of blonde hair was now on the ground. For a moment, the so called vampire looked at the blonde hair, and then looked at the girl in front of him, only now she had shaggy brown hair and was replacing the large glasses with a smaller pair. "T-This is… U- U-U-Unacceptable! M-M-Mustang! I… I n-never w-w-w-wanted to d-d-do this!"

"T-That voice," Tenri muttered with a large bead of sweat rolling down the side of her head. "Mustang, you didn't…"

But Mustang was gone, having leapt out into the clearing with his arms crossed over his chest and his gaze centered down at the 'vampire' who had his eyes twitching wildly. "What's wrong, Mr. Vampire? You look as though you just saw a ghost?"

"… I just seduced a man in a skirt," The vampire answered back with his eyes narrowed down. "And then I got smacked by him, how the hell would you think I'd react to that?"

"H-H-Hibiki-tan, p-please g-g-give me m-my regular c-c-c-clothes!" Price yelped as he leapt into the bushes near the catty card shopkeeper.

"Awe, and you look so kawaii in that!" Hibiki moaned loudly with a couple more flashes. "Just let me take a few more pics for my collection… Or, you could strip the clothing off. That might be even better!"

Tenri just sweatdropped when she heard the conversation, '_Yeah, that's real mature to say those sorts of things in front of students.'_

"Alright, Vampire Wannabe," Mustang chuckled with a large smirk on his face. "I was wondering if you would show up, and I was starting to get a little concerned about if you would show up – I didn't want to put a girl in danger."

"And it was alright to put a Professor at risk?" Tenri sounded out from the bushes.

"Hey, the professor can easily protect himself," Mustang sounded out without turning his gaze. "And as for you, I don't particularly care for how you've been trying to make a feast out of the girls here, just consider yourself lucky you didn't lay a finger on someone I care about."

"Awe," Tenri cooed, trying to ignore the fact that Price was trying to change into his clothes.

"I do what I do to live," the vampire answered back with his gaze narrowed down at Mustang. "If I do not maintain enough crimson essence, I will fade from existence – And I've become accustomed to this world's beauty. Would you deny a man his life?"

"Wow, that's some good acting," Mustang admitted with his head tilted slightly. "I can't really believe that there's some guy on this island that would go this far with the vampire fad."

"A fad you say?" The vampire hissed loudly, throwing his arms to the side, making his cloak to fly up and reveal his regal clothing underneath. "Can you not fathom the full extent of my powers? What a foolish man you are… I can turn you into a pile of dust with a snap of my fingers."

Mustang rubbed his chin a few times before he raised an eyebrow, "… I see… Still, your fancy words don't prove that you're a vampire – As far as I can tell, you're nothing more than a sadist with a vampire fetish who likes younger girls."

"Insolence!" the vampire snarled loudly as a red aura erupted over his body, making Mustang stagger backwards slightly from the energy that was thrown towards his body. "You have far too much pride for one so weak! Do you have no clue who you are standing before?"

Mustang blinked a few times at what just happened, and looked at the mysterious vampire who still had energy radiating from his body. '_Well now, looks like my suspicions are well founded… I had a feeling that one of these guys was involved, although, I didn't expect to see that he'd be this powerful._

'_Things just got interesting.'_

"So, Mr. Vampire," Mustang chuckled as he regained his composure. "Or should I refer to you as Curse of Vampire?"

"Oh? I was wondering if people would recognize me in this world," Curse admitted with his eyes still narrowed down at Mustang. "Still, you're getting in the way of the feast I had planned for this evening. Begone!"

"Sorry to tell ya, but I'm not budging," Mustang stated as he reached into his overcoat. "Especially when there are bloodsuckers on the loose who could potentially hurt people that I care about. And if you truly are the Curse of Vampire, then you should know about this."

Pulling his arm from his jacket, Mustang revealed a pocket duel disk that he immediately slapped onto his right arm, making it fold out. "I know that things like you know that you can't possibly turn down a chance like this."

For a moment, there was a moment of silence through out the woods until…

"Ha ha!" Curse laughed loudly before he turned back to a serious look in his face. "Forgive me, it's just that I find you so amusing."

"What?" Mustang questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Your challenge to me is nothing more than a dream," Curse explained. "And an excessive dream can cost you more than you might think… I do not see a need to fight against you, you useless mortal. Even if I won this little battle of yours, what would I possibly gain? Your blood would more than likely leave a terrible taste in my mouth for many nights."

"What can you gain?" Mustang repeated with his arms held out. "I know what all you guys want – A physical body."

Price stopped putting his shirt back over his body and lifted his head up, '_A physical body? Wait… Isn't that like…'_

"So, you'll relinquish your body should I win?" Curse mused with a fang filled smirk. "A tempting offer, but if your stakes are high, then what are mine?"

"Do you even need to ask something like that?" Mustang replied as he reached into another pocket and pulled out a deck of cards that he easily slipped into the holster of his compact disk. A moment later, the disk began to fold out, revealing the five card slots.

"Fight to live, it's my only amusement," Curse chuckled as he lifted his left arm up, allowing a large orb of red energy to appear on his arm. The energy popped and formed into a blood red duel disk that had a bat-wing design on it as well as being armed with a deck in the deck slot. "So, enjoy your last moments on this earth – Tonight, I shall make a toast with your blood." (CLP: 8000)

"Big talk, let's see you back up those words!" Mustang announced as both duelists pulled out the top five cards from their decks. "Duel!" (MLP: 8000)

_TBC_


	8. Draw 6B: Duel Academy Times

**TTTTTTTT**

_**Draw 6**_

_**Duel Academy Times**_

**TTTTTTT**

"_Insolence!" the vampire snarled loudly as a red aura erupted over his body, making Mustang stagger backwards slightly from the energy that was thrown towards his body. "You have far too much pride for one so weak! Do you have no clue who you are standing before?"_

_Mustang blinked a few times at what just happened, and looked at the mysterious vampire who still had energy radiating from his body. 'Well now, looks like my suspicions are well founded… I had a feeling that one of these guys was involved, although, I didn't expect to see that he'd be this powerful._

'_Things just got interesting.'_

"_So, Mr. Vampire," Mustang chuckled as he regained his composure. "Or should I refer to you as Curse of Vampire?"_

"_Oh? I was wondering if people would recognize me in this world," Curse admitted with his eyes still narrowed down at Mustang. "Still, you're getting in the way of the feast I had planned for this evening. Begone!"_

"_Sorry to tell ya, but I'm not budging," Mustang stated as he reached into his overcoat. "Especially when there are bloodsuckers on the loose who could potentially hurt people that I care about. And if you truly are the Curse of Vampire, then you should know about this."_

_Pulling his arm from his jacket, Mustang revealed a pocket duel disk that he immediately slapped onto his right arm, making it fold out. "I know that things like you know that you can't possibly turn down a chance like this."_

_For a moment, there was a moment of silence through out the woods until…_

"_Ha ha!" Curse laughed loudly before he turned back to a serious look in his face. "Forgive me, it's just that I find you so amusing."_

"_What?" Mustang questioned with a raised eyebrow._

"_Your challenge to me is nothing more than a dream," Curse explained. "And an excessive dream can cost you more than you might think… I do not see a need to fight against you, you useless mortal. Even if I won this little battle of yours, what would I possibly gain? Your blood would more than likely leave a terrible taste in my mouth for many nights."_

"_What can you gain?" Mustang repeated with his arms held out. "I know what all you guys want – A physical body."_

_Price stopped putting his shirt back over his body and lifted his head up, 'A physical body? Wait… Isn't that like…'_

"_So, you'll relinquish your body should I win?" Curse mused with a fang filled smirk. "A tempting offer, but if your stakes are high, then what are mine?"_

"_Do you even need to ask something like that?" Mustang replied as he reached into another pocket and pulled out a deck of cards that he easily slipped into the holster of his compact disk. A moment later, the disk began to fold out, revealing the five card slots. _

"_Fight to live, it's my only amusement," Curse chuckled as he lifted his left arm up, allowing a large orb of red energy to appear on his arm. The energy popped and formed into a blood red duel disk that had a bat-wing design on it as well as being armed with a deck in the deck slot. "So, enjoy your last moments on this earth – Tonight, I shall make a toast with your blood." (CLP: 8000)_

"_Big talk, let's see you back up those words!" Mustang announced as both duelists pulled out the top five cards from their decks. "Duel!" (MLP: 8000)_

"Such fire in your heart," Curse chuckled as he looked over the cards in his hand. "It is admirable to see, therefore, you may take the first turn."

"Much obliged," Mustang stated as he drew the top card from his deck. '_Hmm… Let's think for a second, what would a Curse of Vampire play? Vampires would seem to clichéd for him, and that End of Anubis character didn't even use his own deck – He forced Lillian to duel for him._

'_So, this is practically business as usual for me… No problem there!'_

Mustang smirked as he slapped a card onto his duel disk, making a face down card appear in front of him. "I'll start with one monster in defense mode, then one card face down… And to end my turn, I'll play Heart of the Underdog!"

As the spell card materialized on the field, Mustang smirked brightly at the card, "A good draw engine card, and one of my favorite cards to boot! Turn end!"

'_H-H-Heart of the U-Underdog?'_ Price thought as he buttoned up the last article of clothing – his coat – on his frame. '_He runs a normal deck?'_

"An interesting choice," Curse stated as he slowly plucked a card from the top of his deck. "But it's all for naught. To start my turn, I play a spell card – One known as Dark World Dealings."

Mustang's eyes widened when he heard that, '_A dark world deck? Why would a vampire play 'HIS' deck?'_

As the card appeared, Mustang closed his eyes and imagined a younger man with long black hair, pale skin and dressed in a black version of his school uniform – his back to Mustang. '_No! That person's gone!'_

"Is your blood as weak as you?" Curse questioned as he drew the top card from his deck. "To tremble at my first card…"

"I'm not trembling cause of you fang face," Mustang answered as he drew. "Now then, I'll discard this monster."

"And I too shall discard a monster card as well," Curse stated as the two duelists fitted the cards into their duel disk's graveyard. "And I shall continue my turn. I choose to summon this – Lonefire Blossom in attack mode!"

The ground before Curse erupted, forming into an odd little plant that seemed to have flames pouring out of its bulb (500/1400).

"… Plants?" Mustang questioned.

"A flower of blood blossoms in the darkness," Curse explained as his Lonefire Blossom began to glow red. "Is truly a masterpiece of beauty – I activate Lonefire Blossom's effect, by tributing a plant on my field, I can special summon another plant from my deck… And since Lonefire is a Plant itself…"

The blossom burned into a bright blaze, immediately allowing a dark flame to erupt in front of the vampire. Slowly the flames receded to reveal a rather striking, green skinned beauty of a woman. It was almost as if the monster card – Vampire Lady had been allowed to mature into a luscious young woman before becoming a vampire, but her green skin was covered in rose themed tattoos and she was wearing a dress entirely made out of roses that had blood dripping from the thorns.

The deadly beauty bowed slightly as she licked her lips (2800/2100) as Curse laughed loudly, "It would be rude not to introduce this young lass – meet Rose, the Night Bringer. Normally, her effect would benefit her summoning, but since she was at the bottom of my deck, I figured I'd make it up to her by making her the first monster to attack with this turn.

"So, Rose, please do the honors."

Rose smiled evilly as she lifted her hand up into the air towards Mustang's face down monster, and suddenly several thorn covered vines shot out from the ground around Rose's feet and flew through the air. Mustang didn't even flinch as the vines slapped into the face down monster, revealing a cloak covered creature with a boney staff in its hand and a porcelain mask covering its face (600/700). The vines wrapped around the monster before it shattered like glass.

"Thank you," Mustang chuckled as he reached for his deck. "The monster you just destroyed was my Phantom Magician, and when destroyed, I can summon out a certain kind of monster from my deck, as long as it has less than a thousand attack points."

"Ah yes, but that's only if your monster goes to the graveyard," Curse chuckled as the vines around Rose's feet immediately dug into the ground and pulled out the Phantom Magician's cloak from the ground and wrapped it around Rose's shoulders. "However, when Rose destroys a monster as a result of battle, it doesn't go the graveyard, it becomes an equip card to her."

"Oh, ho! Impressive!" Mustang laughed loudly with a large grin on his face. "I wasn't expecting that!"

"As I can tell," Curse snickered as he snapped his fingers. "Rose also possesses other abilities, by destroying the monster she has equipped, I can activate one out of three effects. One of which is to destroy one spell and trap card on your field for every five hundred attack points the destroyed equipped monster.

"Since your magician only has six hundred attack points, I can only destroy one card you have… And since I don't want to deal with such bland monsters, I'll destroy your face up spell card!"

Rose grabbed a hold of the cloak and threw it up into the air, shattering it into millions of thorns that flew towards Mustang's field.

But still, Mustang looked calm. "I applaud you for such an excellent opening move, but its not going to work. I play my trap card – Steel Resolve!"

Mustang's face down card immediately flipped up, revealing the image of the same youth that was on the Heart of the Underdog taking a punch to the face by a shadowed goon, all the while a small girl hiding behind the youth. "When you activate a card effect that would destroy one or more of my cards on the field, I can activate this counter trap – Now, by revealing one level four or lower normal monster from my hand, not only can I negate that effect, but I can also destroy the card as well!"

Curse's eyes widened as Mustang turned a card around in his hand, revealing a yellow bordered card that had a weird monster card on it. As Mustang did so, the trap card glowed and allowed the youth on the picture to appear onto the field, taking the attack of the thorns.

When the thorns stopped falling, the youth narrowed his eyes at Rose, making the beautiful monster gasp at the cold glare he was shooting her. And almost instantly she yelped out in terror and disappeared into a cloud of black smoke. Curse's eyes widened, "Rose! No!"

"There's more," Mustang chuckled as he spun the card of choice in his hand. "If the card that was destroyed by this effect was a monster card, I can summon the monster I just revealed to the field – So, welcome to a round of sound of Masked HERO Dusk Crow!"

Leaping from the trap card this time was young armored hero covered with black and purple armor with talons on hiss feet and arms, while his face was covered with a helmet that gave him a look of a crow. Around his neck was a billowing cloak that made the man look as though he had dark feathered wings (1200/1000). For a moment, the Underdog youth and Dusk Crow looked to each other before they nodded to each other.

And with that, the Underdog youth and Steel Resolve disappeared.

"H-Heroes?" Price muttered.

"Mustang! When did you change your deck?" Tenri questioned loudly from her hiding spot.

"Well, it was over the summer," Mustang answered with a shrug of his shoulder. "Most of my Die Hard cards were considered being booted from fair play with their effects and stats – Since that was the case, I didn't want to hear how people think my title was acquired through cheating means. I got my status and title with my own hard work, and with a deck like this, I'll prove it."

"D-Die Hard?" Price questioned, turning towards Hibiki who had been taking pictures of the duel thus far.

"Hmm? Didn't you know megane-kun?" Hibiki asked. "Mustang here is the Die Hard Kaiser, the best duelist on the island."

It took a few moments for that fact to sink into Price's head. "W-W-What?"

"Enough!" Curse hissed loudly as a dark light began to emerge from the ground at his feet. "This duel is still on, and since a level five or higher plant monster was destroyed, I can activate the effect of the monster I discarded with Dark World Dealings – Revival Rose!

"Since Rose was a level eight monster, I can call upon my Revival Rose to guard me!"

From the ground three roses popped out, but from the center of the flowers, there was a single eye in each of them that blinked a few times (1300/1300). "Then to end my turn, I shall set two cards face down."

As the two cards materialized, Mustang drew from the top of his deck, "Then I get to draw!"

Looking at the card, Mustang smirked as he turned it around, "And the monster I drew was a normal monster called Masked HERO Fountain, which activates the effect of Heart of the Underdog! Now I get to draw once more!"

Mustang pulled the top card from his deck and smirked as he turned it around, "And wouldn't you know it? It's another normal monster! This one's Masked HERO Gust! So another draw for me!"

Pulling off his next card Mustang nodded at it and tossed it into his hand, "Unfortunately, my third draw wasn't as lucky, but I'm not complaining. Now, I'll normal summon Masked HERO Gust in attack mode!"

A powerful surge of air erupted through the woods, allowing another masked hero to arrive on the scene – This one dressed in light green armor with fan-like protrusions from his helmet and a long silver scarf wrapped around his neck (1500/1600). "Now then, since you went on the assault, it's only fair that I do the same! Gust! Attack Revival Rose!"

With a powerful leap, the masked hero flew through the air and immediately dropped down to slam his foot right into the middle of the three roses, instantly shattering them into millions of petals.

"And now for Dark Crow's turn!" Mustang announced as he threw his hand forward, making the cloak wearing crusader dash forward.

"I don't think so!" Curse roared loudly as he snapped his fingers, making one of his face down cards flip up. "I play the trap card Thorns of Blood, during the turn a plant type monster is destroyed I can activate this card. Not only do I take no damage for the rest of the turn, but I am then allowed to take one 'Rose' monster from my deck and add it to my hand."

Dusk Crow threw a punch towards Curse, however several thorns erupted from the ground and took the punch for the vampire. "It was a good attempt, just not good enough."

"Not bad at all," Mustang stated as he slipped two cards into his duel disk. "But let's see if you can keep this up!"

"I assure you, I will," Curse stated as he drew from the top of his deck, giving him four cards in his hand. "This turn shall start off with this, my spell card – Seed Cannon."

Another plant began to emerge from the ground, this one looking rather demonic, with having orange bulbs on it. "Now, whenever a plant monster is summoned, I am allowed to place one Plant Counter on it… But we'll get to that later, for now I play my trap card Limit Reverse, so now I can call upon my Lonefire Blossom once more!"

The ground erupted with the familiar, fiery plant spouting fire appeared on the field again (500/1400), and one of the flowers on the Seed Cannon began to bloom. "And just like before, I'll tribute my plant to use its effect! This time I choose to special summon Blood Rose!"

The ground surged as a towering black rose whose spiked roots erupted from the ground, around the roots of the rose were several corpses shriveling into husks as lines of crimson reach up the stem to a hideous mouth-like rose bud with fanged petals and writhing 'tongues'.

Tenri and Hibiki screamed loudly as the fanged flower screeched even louder (0/0), and yet another flower on the seed cannon bloomed. "But I'm not done, not by a long shot, I play a spell card known as Monster Reborn! So, guess who's returning to the field…"

Mustang gritted his teeth at the sight of the Lonefire Blossom (500/1400) reappearing on the field, as a third flower bloomed on the Seed Cannon. "And like before, I'll use its effect to summon another plant monster, this time however, I'll go with something a bit more… Practical – the mighty Gigaplant!"

Price blinked a few times at the sight of the familiar gigantic Venus Fly-Trap (2400/1200), the same monster that Eiji had used against him in the first duel Price had with the academy. All too well he knew what this monster was capable of, and once again, the Seed Cannon's fourth bulb bloomed. "And now, I can dual summon this monster, allowing me to access its powers!"

And for a fifth time, the final bulb on the Seed Cannon bloomed. "And its powers are simple, allowing me to special summon one plant or insect from my hand or grave. And since I detest most insects, I'll choose a plant in the graveyard, so please return Rose, the Night Bringer!"

With a loud screech of the Gigaplant, several petals began to fly down from the sky and float in front of Curse, immediately allowing the rose-dressed woman to reappear, this time with her arms over her chest (2800/2100). "However for the time being, I'll keep her in defense mode."

"Humph, and now you'll use Seed Cannon's effect," Mustang chuckled with his arms crossed. "Meaning now I'll take five hundred points of damage for each counter that's on it… And it's got a full five."

"Hmm, don't be upset," Curse chuckled as he snapped his fingers, making the Seed Cannon point all five of the flowers towards Mustang. "You brought this upon yourself. Seed Cannon! Fire!"

All five of the flowers began to focus down on Mustang and immediately several volleys of seeds that flew towards the Die Hard Kaiser, however, he just stood there as the seed moved past his body. A few seeds struck his body and made small tears and rips in his overcoat and one even made a fine cut on his handsome face.

Slowly blood dripped from the cut and made Mustang narrow his eyes. (MLP: 5500)

"And literally, first blood to me," Curse chuckled as the Blood Rose screeched loudly, its body becoming more and more demonic. "Of course, its at this point in time that Blood Rose's effect comes into play, whenever one of us takes effect damage, my flower blossomed from the blood savors the flavor of pain, gaining attack and defense points equal to the damage we just took.

"So, you don't have to be a genius to guess what it gains."

The 'tongues' of the Blood Rose wagged about as the large body grew more diabolic thorns (0/0 + 2500/2500). "And now, I think its time we get rid of those disgraces you call monsters. Blood Rose! Claim your first meal of the night! Strike down that Dusk Crow!"

All of the 'tongues' on the Blood Rose flew forward, immediately heading towards the masked hero – Who didn't move an inch.

"Don't think so!" Mustang announced as he pushed a button on his duel disk. "I play the trap card – Negate Attack! So, your attack is negated and your end phase ends!"

"However desperate you fight," Curse mused before he fitted the last card in his hand into his duel disk. "My victory does not change."

"Come on Mustang! Don't let that pale freak get the better of you!" Tenri called out as Mustang drew from the top of his deck.

"Not like I was going to let him do that in the first place," Mustang called back as he drew. "Alright, I didn't get a normal monster right now, but I can still use what I've got on the field."

"All you've got are two weaklings out on the field," Curse scoffed. "And while you may be able to sacrifice them for something stronger, you cannot win against my garden of darkness."

"Let me tell you something, bub," Mustang scoffed with his eyes narrowed down at the Curse of Vampire. "I don't have any tribute monsters in this main deck, all the monsters in here are level four or lower."

"Then you're a bigger fool than I thought," Curse sighed loudly. "What sort of duelist would run a deck that didn't have anything stronger than a level four monster?"

"Clean your ears out," Mustang retorted. "I said MAIN DECK, I've got plenty of fire power in my extra deck that I can bust out against ya! Ya see, the Masked Heroes, like their Elemental Hero counter parts have fusions – But, Masked Hero fusions are different, they require a certain spell that can summon them.

"However, when I got a hold of this deck, I managed to get a few cards that while kept with this theme, but still brought out a new power for the Masked Heroes – Dual Fusion!"

"Dual Fusion?" Price, Tenri and Hibiki questioned from their hiding spots.

"Gust! Dark Crow!" Mustang called out to the two heroes who nodded to each other before the stood side by side.

Suddenly, both heroes lifted on arm up – The left for Gust and the right for Dusk Crow – and threw those arms to the other side with their arms bent. For a moment, when their shoulders touched, their arms formed a perfect 'W' before they began to form into pair of powerful lights. Gust was a powerful green and Dusk Crow was a mysterious purple.

"DUAL FUSION!" Mustang called out as the two lights began to merge together.

Instantly the light disappeared and in the two monster's place was a new monster – This one dressed in light armor and jump suit – only the right side was green and the other side was black. The hero's face was covered with a simple mask that had two visors on each side and a small horned crest at his forehead. As the warrior lifted his hands up, a powerful surge of wind erupted through the forest, practically blowing everyone a few inches from where they were and revealing a long silver scarf that was draped around the hero's neck (2500/2000). "Meet another masked hero – Midnight Twister!"

"Wow, that's… That's so fandom!" Hibiki cheered out as she took several pictures of the dueling field.

"That's awesome Mustang!" Tenri cheered even louder.

Price blinked a few times at the monster and then at Mustang, '_I honestly didn't see him using cards like that… Still, I can't help but stare in awe at it.'_

"Now then, I think I'll outfit this guy with one of the Masked Heroes' signature weapons," Mustang announced as he held up the card he just drew. "One that works for any Hero! Moto Rider!"

A loud engine roar blasted through the air, allowing Midnight Twister to jump up into the air. As he flipped through the air, a sleek and fast motorcycle revved onto the field where the warrior stood. A second later, Midnight Twister landed on the motorcycle and revved the engines loudly. "And now, for the attack! Midnight Twister! Run over that Gigaplant"

Then with a loud roar of the engine, Midnight Twister rode towards the Venus Flytrap monster with Curse smirking wildly, "You fool! Did you think that that I would allow my monster to fall prey to your attacks? I activate my trap card – Mirror Force! Now your attack…"

Before Curse could continue, a powerful storm swept through the woods forcing all three of his rooted monsters to billow backwards (2400/1200 = 1200/2400) (2800/2100 = 2100/2800) (2500/2500 = 2500/2500). And even though he pushed his duel disk's button again to activate his Mirror Force, the trap never activated, and the masked hero plowed the front tire of his motorcycle into the Gigaplant's bulb, shattering the monster into a lot of plant debris. "URK!" (CLP: 6700)

"Yeah! An eye for an eye!" Mustang laughed loudly as he pumped his arms a few times.

"Impossible!" Curse roared loudly. "Why didn't my trap go off, and why did my monster's strengths switch?"

"Oh that, well, my combo came into effect," Mustang explained as Midnight Twister rode back in front of him. "First there's Midnight Twister's effect, when he attacks, any non-hero monsters get their stats flipped… And it's permanent, at least until he attacks again.

"Then there's my Moto Rider, it can only be equipped to a Masked HERO, but when it is, when that hero attacks you can chain any spell or trap cards. In addition, when the equipped monster destroys a monster in battle, I get to nuke one spell or trap card on the field, so naturally, I chose to nuke your face down card – Since you kindly told me what it was."

The Curse of Vampire gritted his teeth and growled loudly at Mustang, "You accursed human! How dare you do that?"

"How?" Mustang mused. "Its cause I'm daring!"

However, before Mustang could continue, several thorns erupted from the ground near Curse's feet and stabbed through his torso, allowing a large amount of black blood to seep from the vampire's body. "GARGH!" (CLP: 6200)

"What in the world?" Mustang questioned as the blood flew through the air and seeped into Blood Rose's body (2500/2500 + 500/500).

"Blood Rose has another effect," Curse coughed as the wound on his body began to close up. "Whenever a Plant monster is destroyed, the owner of that monster loses five hundred life points. And since my rose gains attack and defense for any amount of damage that either of us take, that means that even if you take down my other members of my dark garden, then you still will help out with one of my strongest creature's strength."

'_One of his… That means he's got more of these things floating around his deck?'_ Mustang shook his head as he looked at the four cards in his hand. "I end my turn."

"Yes, that is all you can do," Curse stated as he drew from the top of his deck and narrowed his eyes. "Now, Rose, the Night Bringer! Stand to attack mode… But since her attack has lowered thanks to your monster's pathetic ability…

"Blood Rose! Remove his monster from the field! Bloodied Thorns!"

With a loud roar, the tongued rose summoned several vines that flew towards the Midnight Twister and slammed into the hero. The vines wrapped around the hero's body and the Moto Rider and began to pull the warrior's limbs tighter and tighter and away from the main body. However, the monster shattered before the scene became too gruesome. (MLP: 5000)

"Taste the blood of your pathetic monsters," Curse laughed loudly as he held his arms up. "Your pathetic monster has been destroyed and it's only the beginning of my festival of blood.

"Rose! Feast on his blood with a direct attack!"

Once again, the green skinned beauty lifted her hand up and summoned countless vines that flew through the air towards Mustang. However, a smirk appeared on his face just as the vines were about to collide with his body. "I play my trap card! Defense Draw!"

With a spin on his heel, Mustang kicked the vines up into the air, and surprised Rose as he drew from the top of his deck. "Just be glad that all my trap card can do is lower the damage to zero and allow me to draw another card from my deck."

"You fool, now you're just struggling against the inevitable," Curse chuckled as he fitted the last card in his hand into his duel disk, making it appear in front of him. "Try as you might, your struggling will not…"

"You done yet?" Mustang asked with his brow narrowed down at the Curse.

"What?" the Curse of Vampire muttered as he blinked a few times.

"Sure, you've got powerful monsters, and you managed to take down one of my heroes," Mustang admitted with a dull look on his face before he drew a card from his deck and smirked at it. "But, just attacking with powerful monsters isn't a strategy, and I'll show you a real strategy! Check it, I just drew Masked HERO Rekka, so now I can draw again!"

When Mustang pulled his next card however, his eyebrow raised a little bit, '_Well, well, well, I didn't expect to see you here so soon… I don't need you right now, but it's good to have ya in my hand.'_

"This time, I didn't draw a monster, but I can still summon Masked HERO Rekka in attack mode!"

As soon as Mustang slapped the card onto his duel disk, a powerful flame in front of him. And stepping from the flame was another masked hero – this one covered with blazing red armor with yellow spikes about it (1600/1000). The warrior nodded his head as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"And now, for the true power of the Masked Heroes – Mask Change!"

A bright light erupted over Rekka's body, making the man place his hands on both sides of his belt. Then on his chest armor, several cracks appeared, with a large amount of steam erupting from his body, it wasn't long until the rest of his armor was following suit with countless cracks spiraling from his armor.

Until finally with a loud battle cry, the Masked Hero's armor shattered from his body with a bright flame surging over his body. "So, give it up for Masked HERO Goka!"

The flames began to subside, but still flew about the air as a new hero stood in place of Rekka, this one dressed in brighter red armor that had curved horns on his helmet and shoulder pads while he wore a black and orange jumpsuit over his slim body. The warrior slammed his fists together, creating a powerful surge of flames that flew through the woods (2200/1800).

"That's what I call a monster!" Tenri was in awe at the sight of Goka, her eyes as bright as the stars above.

"You said you'd show me a strategy, but I've yet to see this so called strategy," Curse of Vampire stated with its arms crossed. "But that monster is pathetic, and it has no beauty at all in its form."

"No monster is pathetic," Mustang stated as a powerful red energy erupted over Goka's body (2200/1800 + 400/0). "And Goka's no slouch! For each HERO in my graveyard, he gains one hundred attack points! And thanks to your dark world dealings, I dropped a Hero in my graveyard in the first turn!"

"It cannot topple my Blood Rose," Curse pointed out.

"He doesn't have to," Mustang stated as he threw his hand forward. "He's gunning for Rose, the Night Bringer! And what's a plant's worst fear? FIRE!"

Holding its hands up, Goka revealed the two powerful flames that had completely engulfed the hero's hands, making Rose gasp loudly. "Now… Kamen Punch!"

With a quick dash, Goka immediately appeared in front of Rose and slammed his fist directly into her stomach. That started a chain reaction which lit the beautiful flowery beauty aflame and burnt her to ashes. (CLP: 5700)

"Fool, did you forget about my other monsters?" Curse roared as the thorns stabbed into him again, allowing Dark Rose to roar loudly once again (3000/3000 + 500/500), while at the same time, the Revival Rose (1300/1300) sprouted from the ground. "My monster's effects activate at this moment!" (CLP: 5200)

"So I've noticed," Mustang stated as he took two cards from his hand and slid them into his duel disk. "But I'm not worried. Turn end."

Curse drew his next card and smirked at the sight of it, "You will be worried, I play the spell card – Fragrance Storm. Now, by destroying one face up plant monster, I can draw a card, and since Revival Rose is useless to me, it makes the perfect monster for this!"

The Revival Rose shattered into millions of petals that flew around the Curse of Vampire's body, allowing him to draw a card. "And just like your Heart of the Underdog, should I draw a Plant-type monster, I can reveal it to you to draw another card, and look what I just drew."

The vampire turned the card around, revealing a monster known as Bloodied Seed, the card glowed a bright green to signify that it was indeed a plant, and allowed Curse to draw another card. "In addition, since I destroyed another plant monster, I suffer another five hundred points of damage." (CLP: 4700)

The thorns stabbed into Curse's body, however he only smirked as the Blood Rose grew even larger (3500/3500 + 500/500).

"Anyone got any weed clippers?" Mustang joked with a smirk on his face.

"Keep making jokes," Curse announced as he slapped a card onto his duel disk. "I summon Bloodied Seed from my hand!"

As soon as Curse slapped the card onto his duel disk, a large seed appeared on the ground in front of the vampire, this monster coated with blood (0/0). "Next, I play my trap card – Bamboo Scrap! And while this card doesn't fit the theme, it certainly helps with my feast of blood – by tributing one Plant-Type monster on my field, I can special summon two Plant Tokens.

"Be gone my Bloodied Seed!"

The seed shattered into millions of spores that floated around the air.

"Sure, go for it," Mustang stated with a smirk on his face as the spores began to float down to the ground.

"You misunderstand," Curse stated with a smirk on his face. "I do not aim to summon to my field, they are summoned to yours!"

Mustang's eyes widened as two large flowers popped up in front of him, both of them with black petals and dripping with blood (800/500 x2). "Take heed, they are in defense mode. But still, that activates my Bloodied Seed's effect, allowing me to special summon one level three or lower plant monster, other than itself, from my graveyard, so, reveal yourself once again – Lonefire Blossom!"

Once again, the fiery flower appeared on the field in front of Curse (500/1400). Mustang moaned loudly at the sight of the monster, "Man, don't you have any other moves?"

"Hmm, complain all you want," Curse stated as his Blossom shattered once again. "It will fall unto deaf ears! Lonefire, I sacrifice you to bring out Dark Rose Knight!"

'_What? I was expecting another Rose, the Night Bringer or Blood Rose,'_ Mustang thought to himself as he watched as the dark flames in front of Curse began to subside.

And stepping from the flames was a dark armored knight with a long purple cloak that had several rose designs embroidered on the fabric. The warrior itself held onto a shield that had a black rose design on it (1000/800). "Now watch and be amazed, as I now sacrifice my Knight to use its effect. Now, I can special summon any plant monster from my graveyard… So, return my beauty!"

Holding its shield up, the Dark Rose Knight immediately shattered into millions of black petals that danced about the clearing. A few seconds later, Rose, the Night Bringer (2800/2100) reappeared in all of her glory, with a slightly irked look on her face.

"There she is," Mustang chuckled. "So, are you going to attack now?"

"I'd be a fool to do so when you have two face down cards," Curse stated as he lifted up the last card in his hand up. "But that doesn't mean I can't inflict damage to you this turn, I play the spell card, Weed Pulling! Now, all level three or lower plant monsters on the field are destroyed, but currently, that only refers to monsters on your side of the field!"

Mustang's eyes widened as he watched both of the flowers on his field shatter into millions of pixels. Curse smirked as he pulled off two cards from his deck, "Then for each plant that was destroyed, I can draw one card. So, that means two cards for me. However, during the turn I use this effect I cannot use the cards and I must skip my battle phase.

"However, that doesn't mean I can't hurt you. Blood Rose's effect now activates! Since you lost two plant monsters, you take five hundred points of damage for each of them!"

Mustang's eyes widened as he watched the thorns erupt from the ground and aim right at him… However, the Die Hard Kaiser quickly jumped up at the last second and dodged the thorns as they crossed paths. "Ha!" (MLP: 4000)

"Dodge all you like," Curse hissed loudly as Blood Rose began to grow larger (4000/4000 + 1000/1000). "But that still won't change my monster's attack. Turn end."

Mustang took a second to look at the field. He still had his two face down cards as well as his Heart of the Underdog and Goka. Then there were the two cards in his hand, two other monsters.

With a shake of his head, Mustang smirked as he drew from the top of his deck, "My draw!"

Looking at the card, Mustang raised an eyebrow, but smirked, "I didn't draw a normal monster. However, I did draw this! The spell card Hand Destruction, so, now both of us drop two cards from our hands and then draw two different cards from the top of our decks."

Curse narrowed his eyes as he tucked the two cards he had in his hand into his duel disk's graveyard slot (the cards were Revival Rose and a spell card – Garden of Dark Roses). Both duelists drew from the top of their decks and Goka's body began to grow much more brighter (2600/1800 + 200/0). "The two monsters that I discarded were both heroes, so Goka's attack points increase as such. But I'll activate my trap card – Birthright! Now I can call back Masked HERO Bassols!"

In a bright light, another, more muscular hero appeared on the field, this one dressed in bulky gold and black armor with his dark gray jump suit covering his body (1000/700). The flames around Goka dissipated slightly, but still covered him fully (2700/1800).

"These monsters of yours disgrace my dark garden," Curse snarled. "Why do you play such creatures?"

"Why?" Mustang mused. "Why not? I think they're just plain awesome. Now, I think its time I continue my move! I play my spell card – Mask Change! This time, I'm choosing Bassols!"

Bassols slammed his fists together, making a powerful bright light over the monster. Once gain, several cracks appeared over the masked hero's armor until it shattered with a bright light.

As the light began to die down, another new Masked Hero appeared on the grassy field – dressed in white armor with a gold trim on it. The warrior had a long rapier in its hand and had a long flowing black cape attached to the warrior's shoulder pads. However, the most interesting aspect of the Masked Hero… Was that this hero was clearly female (2800/3000). "Meet Masked HERO Daian!"

"Hmm, an elegant monster, I suppose," Curse admitted with his eyes rolled at the sight of Goka Regaining its strength (2800/1800). "However, neither of your monsters are strong enough to defeat either of my Roses."

"Don't you know anything about Heroes?" Mustang replied as he looked at the card he had in his hand. "When two or more heroes are together to fight evil, they combine their strengths together! I play Attack Union!"

Both of the Masked Heroes turned towards each other and nodded at each other. Then both of the Heroes leapt high into the air, both of them spinning through the air before the dropped down towards Blood Rose and extended their legs to deliver a pair of powerful kicks. Curse smirked wildly as he threw his hand up into the air, "If you're so insistent of granting me your body, I will not deny your wish!

"Blood Rose! Finish his ridiculous monsters off!"

The tongues on the rose flew through the air, aiming to take out the two heroes, however a powerful surge of wind and flames erupted around the two heroes (2800 + 2800 = 5600), and knocked the tongues away. Curse's eyes widened as both of the Heroes slammed their feet into the rose's roots and covered the entire rose with flames that burned it nothing but embers. (CLP: 4100)

"And in case you didn't realize," Mustang stated with a wild smirk on his face. "Attack Union allows me to combine my two monsters' attack into one. And guess what, thanks to Daian's effect, I can now summon a level four or lower hero monster from my deck to the field!

"So, give it up for Masked HERO Fountain in attack mode!"

With his arm lifted up, Mustang immediately snapped his fingers and allowed another hero to fall from the sky in front of him, this one dressed in light blue armor with a long white scarf billowing from his neck. The warrior lifted his hand up and revealed that he held onto a blue rose in his hands (1000/1400).

"You're not the only one who can summon a monster!" Curse hissed loudly as two bright lights emerged around his field, creating two Revival Roses in front of him (1300/1300 x2). "Thanks to your earlier efforts, I had discarded a second Revival Rose from my hand, and now, I am able to draw on both of their powers."

"Yeah, yeah," Mustang nonchalantly stated with a wave of his arm. "So you get your two roses back, congrats."

Curse huffed loudly as he drew from the top of his deck, his eyes gleaming at the sight of the card he just drew. "Your sarcasm is only a front for the fear that I can smell – I play the spell card, Pot of Avarice! Now, return to my deck Gigaplant, Blood Rose, Dark Rose Knight, Lonefire Blossom, and Bloodied Seed! Grant me more strength to overcome this foolish human!"

Five flower petals flew from Curse's graveyard slot, and immediately transformed into the fore-mentioned cards. The vampire immediately took hold of the cards and slipped them into his deck, allowing the cards to shuffle themselves into his deck. And then with simple flick of the wrist, the Vampire pulled the two cards from the top of his deck. "Hmm, interesting. It would appear that the night has decided to favor me with this turn."

"Huh?" Mustang questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"I summon Blue Rose Maiden!" Curse announced as a large flower bud erupted from the ground in front of him.

The flower was definitely a rose, but it had blue petals instead of the usual red. The blue rose began to bloom and in the center of the flower sat a rather beautiful, if not sad young girl with pale skin, leafy blue hair and dressed in a blue rose petal covered dress over her small frame (400/800).

Mustang eyed the sad beauty and raised an eyebrow at the monster, '_That's odd, I would've figured he'd try to bring out another Lonefire Blossom and get Blood Rose back out…'_

"Now, my maiden," Curse chuckled as he held his hand up towards the Blue Rose Maiden. "I believe it is time to use your natural ability… I tune my level one Blue Rose Maiden to my two level four Revival Roses!"

"Tuning?" Price, Tenri and Hibiki all gasped as the Blue Rose Maiden shattered into millions of rose petals that flew around the two Revival Roses, which had also exploded into millions of red petals.

Mustang narrowed his eyes as he watched the petals dance about the field until finally they began to form into a large towering creature that stood before Curse. The creature itself was at least twenty feet tall and was vaguely humanoid. However, the rose petals began to fly off of the creature's body, revealing a dark armored warrior with several roses erupting from beneath the armor of the warrior. A long black cape billowed from the armor's shoulders and a vine covered sword was grasped in the armor's hands (2900/2000). "This is the king of my deck – The Black Rose King!"

"… That would be so cool, if it wasn't going to be used against me," Mustang admitted with a nervous smirk on his face.

"You haven't seen the worst of it yet, I activate the spell – Black Garden!" Curse laughed out loudly as the ground erupted with several thorny vines that flew around the two duelists, forming into a large cage around the two of them. In addition, countless black roses bloomed on the cage. "Now, in this hallowed garden's presence, any time one of us summons a monster, that monster's attack and defense will be cut in half and the opposing duelist shall receive a Rose Token.

"However, I shall not fall prey to this – I discard one card from my hand to activate Dark Gardener!"

Discarding one of the final two cards from his hand, Curse fitted the last card in his hand into his duel disk, making the final card materialize in front of him. The card itself showed a demonic gardener watering several roses that have rows of teeth on their petals. "Now, as long as this card is face up on the field, I need not fear the effects of my garden. But that's besides the point…

"Rose! It is time to finally gain your revenge! Destroy Fountain!"

Raising her fingers to her lips, the Night Bringer blew a kiss towards the masked hero, allowing several thorny vines to follow suit and aim for the hero.

Mustang snapped his fingers and made one of his face down cards flip up, "I have no intention of allowing my heroes to fall so easily! I play Covering Fire! Now, Fountain gets a back up boost from Goka! So now my monsters will be…"

However, as Mustang explained this, several vines erupted from the ground and ensnared his trap card, covering the card before they crushed the trap card into nothing. "What the…"

"Perhaps I should explain," Curse chuckled as he pulled off the top cards from his deck. "You see, my Black Rose King has three separate effects, which effect he gets depends on what the top card of my graveyard is. For example, if it was a trap card like it is now – I can negate the activation of one of your spells or traps and destroy it, and all I have to do is send the top two cards from my deck to the graveyard. And I should point out that now, my attack continues!"

Rose's vines continued on their path, and immediately wrapped around the Masked Hero before they crushed him into nothing but flying pixels. (MLP: 2200)

With a smirk, the Night Bringer snapped her fingers and lifted up the blue rose that Fountain held in his hands. "And let's not forget that my monster's attack doesn't send your hero to the grave, it becomes an accessory for my lovely little Rose… But more importantly, that means your Goka doesn't receive any more attack points.

"Black Rose King! Slay Goka!"

The tall knight drew his sword high over his head and immediately leapt over the field and brought his sword down on the fiery hero, slicing the hero in two pieces that fell to the ground. The pieces disappeared into a powerful flame that danced through the air around Mustang's body. (MLP: 2100)

"And another thing I should note," Curse laughed loudly as he reached for his deck. "When I activated his effect, Black Rose King forced me to discard two cards, and the top one was a spell card, my second Black Garden. So, since there is a spell card now atop of my graveyard, I can use another effect of his.

"And the one that entails spell, I can now draw till I hold five cards in my hand!"

Curse slipped the five cards from the top of his deck into his hand, "Much better, now I can finally access more from my garden – For my second main phase, I shall place two cards face down and then I'll activate Rose's ability – Sending your Fountain to the graveyard to inflict an additional thousand points of damage to you!"

Rose smirked as she tossed the blue rose up into the air, making the petals of the flower scatter about before they transformed into several orbs of light that shot from the air and around Mustang's body. "Grrr…" (MLP: 1100)

"You are the so called best duelist on this island?" Curse mused as he brought one of his hands up to his mouth and smirked at Mustang. "Then things will become all the more interesting once I have acquired my new form, a true king will appear. To end my turn, I play a second Seed Cannon!"

Tenri bit her lip as the large five budded flower appeared on the field once again. "Mustang! Be careful! He's trying to do that trick again!"

"Indeed, and with my Black Garden," Curse chuckled. "This pathetic attempt is over with!"

"Don't get your hopes up," Mustang stated as he drew from the top of his deck, making him blink a few times as he looked at the card he just drew. "I'm still in this game, you Fright Night reject."

"Perhaps, but it won't be much longer for you," Curse chuckled loudly. "This carnival of blood is starting to bore me, so end your pathetic little turn and grant me what I so desire."

"How about you let me show you what I can truly do," Mustang answered back as he pushed a button on his duel disk. "I play my spell card, Spellbook in the Pot! Now, both of us draw three more cards!"

"Fine by me," Curse chuckled as he slowly drew from the top of his deck. "I could use a refresher."

"Too bad you won't get to use it," Mustang answered looking over the cards in his hand. "I summon Diehard Wanderer!"

A large amount of dust began to fly up around the two duelists, and harmonica music began to play through the air. Slowly, stepping from the dust was a young man with long, shaggy black hair that billowed down past his shoulders which were covered with an old, brown and silver cloak. In the man's hands that popped out of the cloak was a small harmonica that he played with each step (1000/800).

"Well, he just wandered into the wrong location," Curse laughed loudly as he snapped his fingers. "My Black Garden ensnares your monster and cuts its attack in half!"

Several vines immediately wrapped around the Wanderer's body, however, the young wanderer simply just continued to play his harmonica (500/800). While at the same time, a large black rose erupted from the ground in front of the Curse of Vampire (800/800), making one of the buds on the Seed Cannon open up. "And at the same time, I get a Rose Token, so, thank you for doing this – It'll make defeating you all the easier."

"Next, I play a spell card!" Mustang continued as he fitted a card into his duel disk, making a ghostly spirit appear in front of him. "I play Silent Doom! So now I can special summon a normal monster from my graveyard in defense mode – Return Masked HERO Trooper!"

From the ghostly spirit, another Masked Hero stepped onto the field, this one dressed in a black jumpsuit with gold armor covering his body and a sharp helmet that had a purple visor and silver mouth-guard on it (800/400 – 400/0). As the warrior crouched down onto the ground, countless vines erupted from the ground and wrapped around his body. At the same time, another black rose (800/800) sprouted from the ground and the second bulb on the Seed Cannon bloomed.

Curse raised an eyebrow at the odd monster. "What in the world are you trying to accomplish? If you wanted to lose, you could just surrender."

"I'm not aiming to surrender," Mustang retorted as two cards popped out from his dueling deck. "I'm aiming to wind! Now, here's the real kicker about my trooper, while on the field and graveyard, he's considered a normal monster, so I can use my Silent Doom to bring him out. But then there's his true effect, when special summoned, I can call out all other copies of him from my hand or deck, and I've got both of them in my deck!"

Mustang slapped the cards onto his duel disk, making two more of the troopers appear in front of him, both of them crouched down as the vines wrapped around them (800/400 – 400/0 x2). Curse laughed loudly, "You fool! Do you realize what you're doing? You're just making this all the easier for me to vanquish you!"

However, only one more Rose Token emerged from the ground (800/800), making a third flower bloom on the Seed Cannon. Mustang smirked at the field, "Yeah, but now you've got a field filled of weeds, so you can't get any more tokens."

"Like I need them," Curse cackled loudly with his arms raised up high into the air. "I don't need to summon any more monsters, I have my Seed Cannon! And next turn, I can use its effect to end this mockery of a duel."

"You don't get a next turn," Mustang answered as he threw his hand up into the air. "Cause now, I'm bringing out the big guns! You see, Diehard Wanderer has a unique trait, one that you yourself used – He's a tuner!"

Curse's eyes widened as the harmonica playing wanderer shattered free from the vines, forming into four green rings of light that flew over Mustang's body and the three troopers that were on his field. "I tune my level four Wanderer to my three level two Masked HERO Troopers!"

The three troopers each transformed into two stars each, all of which collided with Mustang's body – And the moment they did, a powerful surge of light erupted around Mustang's body, completely covering the duelist for a few seconds until a powerful iron covered fist erupted from the tower. "To Synchro summon – Masked Banchou!"

The tower shattered like glass, revealing that Mustang was now dressed in a long, flowing black overcoat with several rips and tears in it, along with a blood stained red shirt and black pants. Covering his face was now a steel mask that had a yellow visor over his eyes and a large black hat that had an 'M' symbol atop of it. The newly dressed Mustang crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes down at the Curse of Vampire (2800/2400).

"W-What in the world?" Price gasped from the bushes. "What just happened?"

"… Its one of Mustang's tricks," Hibiki answered, taking a few more photos of the duel.

Curse stepped back slightly at the sight of Mustang transforming into a masked monster, but then smirked at the sight of all the vines that wrapped around Mustang's body (1400/2400), "You fool, did you think that your little trick would be enough to spare you from my Garden's snare? How childish."

"… Nope," Mustang stated as he lifted up his arm, revealing that he still had his duel disk on. "I knew it was going to happen, when facing a deck filled with roses, I had a feeling I'd have to deal with a Rose Garden, but it didn't matter to me – Especially when Masked Banchou is still stronger than your Rose Tokens!"

Mustang cracked his knuckles loudly, "And I still have Daian out on the field – Meaning I can bust out another monster from my deck when I destroy one of your monsters!"

'_True, but none of your attacks will never reach me,'_ Curse thought to himself as he looked down slightly. '_My trap will stop him in his tracks, and I still have my own insurance just in case you try something…'_

"But first," Mustang announced as he threw his hand over towards his final face down card, making it life up. "The Masked Banchou needs a little bit of a boost – So I'm activating the trap card – Synchro Strike! Now I can bolster my attack points by five hundred for each monster that was used in Masked Banchou's Synchro summon, so that's two thousand points!"

Mustang flexed his muscles as a powerful fiery aura erupted over his body (1400/2400 + 2000/0). "And now… I'll go on the attack! I'm going to topple that titan of yours!"

Using his powerful legs, Mustang dashed across the field, running directly towards the Dark Rose King, his arms held back. Curse laughed loudly as he pushed a button on his duel disk, "You foolish mortal! That will be your last mistake! Wall of Thorns! Destroy him!"

The ground shook as countless thorny vines erupted from the ground and flew towards Mustang, aiming to grapple him. However, Mustang threw his arms forward and began to unleash an onslaught of punches that swept the thorns, in addition, a large ghostly spirit of the Masked HERO Rekka appeared Mustang's charging form and aided Mustang in deflecting the thorny vines. Curse's eyes widened as Mustang leapt through the remaining vines and flew towards the surprised Dark Rose King. "WHAT!"

Without answering, Mustang spun around and quickly slammed his fist into the Dark Rose King's chest armor, sending the king staggering backwards. At first, the attack looked as though it had done nothing to the plant themed monster, but then, several cracks began to web their way through the King's armor. The royal monster roared out before it shattered into millions of petals that flew around the Curse of Vampire's body. "No… But my trap… It… It should've destroyed all of your monsters!" (CLP: 3600)

Mustang landed on the ground and cracked his neck a few times, "It should've, it could've, but it didn't. Don't underestimate me vampire – When Synchro summoned with three or more normal monsters, the Masked Banchou gains the ability to negate the activation of a spell or trap card by simply removing one normal monster from my graveyard.

"And thanks to you, I've got plenty to use."

"Then, t-t-that means," Curse gasped as he staggered backwards.

"Your face down cards don't matter!" Mustang announced as he threw his fist to the side, holding his thumb down towards the Curse.

"YEAH! GO FOR IT MUSTANG!" Both Tenri and Hibiki cheered loudly.

'_He was just playing with that vampire,'_ Price thought as he watched Mustang jump back to his side of the field. '_But still…'_

"Heh, maybe," Curse spat as he regained his confidence. "But you forget one thing!"

"Oh?" Mustang questioned as he tilted his head slightly.

"Yes! You couldn't help but showboat, could you?" Curse cackled loudly as he held his arms up into the air. "Even if you had attacked my Rose Tokens with both of your monsters, from what I've seen, your monsters are weak! You couldn't deplete my life points unless you had a level four or lower monster from your deck with at least eighteen hundred attack points.

"But that's moot! Even if you do have a monster of that strength, you can't defeat me! And thanks to my Seed Cannon, you'll lose automatically and…"

Curse didn't get a chance to finish, for at that moment, Mustang immediately appeared before one of the three Rose Tokens and slammed his foot into flower's bulb, shattering it into millions of purple petals that flew past the Curse. "WHAT NOW!" (CLP: 1000)

With a wag of his finger, Mustang chuckled loudly, "Did I say that the Masked Banchou had only one effect? Nope! You see, depending on how many normal monsters were used in its Synchro summon, it grants me several effects. Since I used at least two, I can attack twice a turn! Which means…"

"This duel's over!" Hibiki and Tenri cheered loudly as the Masked HERO Daian leapt high into the air.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Curse screamed loudly as the Masked Hero sliced the sword through one of the rose tokens and sliced it in two! (CLP: 0)

For a moment, everything was calm, but slowly, the Black Garden began to wither with several petals slowly falling to the ground as all of the monsters on the field began to disappear and the outfit that Mustang was wearing to reveal his Obelisk Blue uniform. Then with a spin on his heel, Mustang smirked at the group in the bushes with a bright gleam of light glistening from his teeth. "And just like that, judgment from the Kaiser has been rendered.

"… Kaiser's ruling – Defeat!"

Curse stumbled backwards until he stepped on his cloak and fell to the ground. "Who… Who are you!"

"Are you deaf?" Mustang replied with his eyes narrowed down on the shaking blood sucker. "I'm Mustang! The Die Hard Kaiser of Pacific Duel Academia! Now, repeat after me!"

"Huh?" Everyone questioned as Mustang pointed towards Curse of Vampire.

"This world," Mustang stated as he pumped a fist towards Curse. "Say it!"

"T-This world!" Curse yelped loudly as a dull blue aura popped over his body.

"Is made of," Mustang continued as he sprung up two of his fingers into a peace sign.

"Oh for the love of," Price sighed loudly. "I didn't think anyone in this day and age would recall a reference this obscure…"

"I-Is made of," Curse yelped as he slowly began to fade away.

"LOVE AND PEACE!" Mustang cheered loudly with a goofy smile on his face.

Curse yelped out loudly his entire body began to fade away, "L-Love and p-p-peace!"

And like that, Curse disappeared from the world, several cards spilling onto the ground where the vampire was once seated at. Mustang smirked at the sight of the cards and spun around towards the group behind him, "Dude, I rock."

"So many references in one match," Price muttered loudly with his head lowered.

"Aw, who cares?" Hibiki replied as Tenri ran out and wrapped her arms around Mustang's waist, catching the Kaiser off guard. "If he can pull it off, then it's no problem, megane-kun. Besides, I was able to get a lot of pics, so I can use them…"

"I want those pictures that you took of me!" Price yelped out as he tried to reach for the camera.

"No, no, nyan!"

**TTTTTTT**

_Time: 1:25 p.m._

_Location: Duel Academia Times Club Room_

"Wait, there was really a vampire?" Cain questioned as he looked at the photos, which came out clearly showing Mustang facing off against the Curse of Vampire. Luckily for Price, the pictures that Hibiki took of him were not in the pile that Cain was looking through.

"Was there ever any doubt?" Mustang replied as he leaned forward.

Price sighed loudly, thankfully he and the two Obelisk Blue duelists were the only ones in the Newspaper Club's room this afternoon – But, that didn't lower Price's embarrassment level from the events that occurred the previous night…

"I'm not going to get into that," Cain sighed loudly with his hand to his head. "In any case, I'm still surprised that you found this vampire. Was it…"

"Yep," Mustang interrupted with a nod of his head. "Turns out that this guy was just like the one before…"

"So, you wanna run this story?" Cain questioned with a sigh.

"But of course!" Mustang laughed loudly with his arms crossed over his chest. "We'll call this the 'Midnight Lurker Brought to Justice', I think it'll really grab everyone's attention of when I kick this guy's ass!"

"Like you need your ego to grow even larger," Cain muttered under his breath. "In any case, while you were chasing this batty tale, I managed to take charge and assigned roles to our little makeshift group. That includes you Mustang and your red headed little stalker.

"And earlier this morning, that little nerd friend of yours – Maxwell brought me another interesting idea for a story that we can run as well. Apparently earlier this morning someone posted a pic on the forums, and in the few short hours, it's already gotten several responses and hits."

Reaching into his overcoat, Cain produced a small printout that he slid across the table and right in front of Mustang and Price. It only took a moment for both of them to register what they were looking at – Price had tears in his eyes and Mustang was trying to suppress his laughter.

Apparently Hibiki-tan managed to get one of the photos away from Price's grasp – cause the picture that Cain had just shown was of that mysterious maiden that had been used as bait for the Curse of Vampire.

"Apparently, there's been a sighting of a mysterious, ghostly beauty in the woods," Cain stated as he rolled his eyes at the photo. "If you ask me, it could just be some girl trying to get attention… Hey, what's with those weird looks on your faces?"

Price didn't answer, all he did was slam his head into the table that he was seated at and Mustang's smile curved like the crescent moon.

'_Why is it like this?'_ Price thought with tears welling up in the corners of his eyes.

**TTTTTT**

**Card Stats**

**Masked HERO Bassols / Earth / LV. 3 / ATK: 1000 / DEF: 700 / Warrior**

**Masked HERO Gust / Wind / LV. 4 / ATK: 1500 / DEF: 1600 / Warrior**

**Masked HERO Rekka / Fire / LV. 4 / ATK: 1600 / DEF: 1000 / Warrior**

**Masked HERO Fountain / Water / LV. 4 / ATK: 1000 / DEF: 1400 / Warrior**

**Masked HERO Daian / Earth / LV. 8 / ATK: 2800 / DEF: 3000 / Warrior/Fusion/Effect:** This card can only be special summoned by the effect of 'Mask Change'. When this card destroys an opponent's monster and sends it to the graveyard, you may special summon one Level Four or Lower monster from your deck.

**Attack Union / Normal Spell / Effect:** Select 2 face-up 'Masked HERO' monsters you control. This turn the 2 monsters can attack 1 monster together. Their ATK is equal to their combined ATK.

_These cards were used by Yuki Judai from the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX manga_

**Blood Rose / DARK / LV. 8 / ATK: 0 / DEF: 0 / Plant/Effect:** Each time a player on either side of the field is dealt effect damage, increase the attack and defense of this card by the amount of damage dealt. As long as this card is face up on the field each time a plant type monster is destroyed, inflict 500 points of damage to the controller of that card.

**Description:** A towering black rose whose spiked roots are burrowing into a cemetery at night, corpses shriveling into husks as lines of crimson reach up the stem to a hideous mouth-like rose bud with fanged petals and writhing 'tongues'

_This card was created by MetalOverlord, thanks dood!_

**Rose, the Night Bringer / LV. 8 / DARK / ATK: 2800 / DEF: 2100 / Plant/ Effect:** This card can be Special Summoned by removing from play 2 "Rose" monsters on your side of the field. If this card destroys a monster as a result of battle, equip the destroyed card to this card as a spell card. By destroying one Card equipped to this card, activate one of the following effects.

-Inflict damage to your opponents Life Points equal to its ATK.

-Destroy all monsters on the field with an ATK equal to or lower than the destroyed card.

-Destroy Spells/Traps on the field for each 500 ATK the equipped monster had.

**Image:** What appears to be a fully grown Vampire Lady, but coated in rose tattoos and a long dress made entirely out of roses, dripping with blood from the thorns.

_MichaelDJ54 created this card, so he takes all of the credit._

**Diehard Wanderer / Dark / LV. 4 / ATK: 1000 / DEF: 800 / Warrior/Tuner:** Treat this card as a normal monster card. Once per duel, you control two or more Normal Monsters on your side of the field, you may special summon this card from your hand or graveyard. Each player can only activate the effect of 'Young Wandering Hero' once per duel.

**Description:** a young man with long, shaggy black hair that billowed down past his shoulders which were covered with an old, brown and silver cloak. In the man's hands that popped out of the cloak was a small harmonica that he plays

**Masked HERO Trooper / Light / LV. 2 / ATK: 800 / DEF: 400 / Warrior/Effect:** While this card is face up on the field or in the graveyard, treat this card as a normal monster. When this card is special summoned, you may special summon as many 'Masked HERO Trooper' cards from your hand or deck.

**Description:** a masked warrior dressed in a black jumpsuit with gold armor covering his body and a sharp helmet that had a purple visor and silver mouth-guard on it

**Kamen Banchou / Dark / LV. 10 / ATK: 2800 / DEF: 2400 / Warrior/Synchro/Effect:** [1 Normal Tuner monster + 1 or more Normal non-Tuner Monsters] While this card is in the graveyard or on the field, treat this card as a normal monster. This card gains the following effects for depending on the number of Normal non-Tuner Monsters that was used for this card's Synchro Summon:

-) 1 or more: This card is unaffected by your opponent's targeting card effects.

-) 2 or more: This card can attack twice during the battle phase.

-) 3 or more: While this card is face up on the field, when your opponent activates a spell or trap card, by removing one Normal Monster from your graveyard, you may negate the activation of that card and destroy it.

**Description:** a sleek, mysterious man dressed in a long, flowing black overcoat with several rips and tears in it, along with a blood stained red shirt and black pants. Covering his face was a steel mask that had a yellow visor over his eyes and a large black hat that had an 'M' symbol atop of it.

**Steel Resolve / Counter Trap / Effect:** When your opponent activates a card effect that would destroy one or more cards on the field, by revealing one level four or lower Normal monster from your hand, you may negate that card's activation and destroy it. If the card that was destroyed with this card's effect was a Monster, you may special summon the monster you revealed from your hand.

**Image:** the same youth that was on the Heart of the Underdog taking a punch to the face by a shadowed goon, all the while a small girl hiding behind the youth

**Masked HERO – Midnight Twister / Dark / LV. 8 / ATK: 2500 / DEF: 2000 / Warrior/Fusion/Effect:** By sending one DARK 'HERO' and one WIND 'HERO' from your side of the field to the graveyard, you may special summon this card from your fusion deck. This card is considered to be a WIND monster in addition to being a DARK monster. When this card attacks, switch the ATK and DEF of all face up monsters on the field other than monsters with 'Masked HERO' in their names.

**Description:** A light armored warrior, with the right side green and the left with black/purple, with a simple mask covering his face with two visors on each side and a small, sharp horned crest at his forehead and he has a long silver scarf that was draped around the hero's neck

**TTTTTTTT**

**Next time…**

**So, you think you can talk to me like that you red?**

**I… I won't let you…**

**Show your strength!**

**Can I really do this?**

**Do you require power?**

**Wait… T-That's why you started this?**

**Its kinda cool, don't ya think?**

**That's enough!**

**Is this what you want?**

_**Next time on ROAD**_

_**Draw 7**_

_**Weakness Role**_


	9. Temporary Announcement

Announcement for R.O.A.D.

Hey everyone! For those who are waiting for the next chapter, I have some good news, and some bad news. The good news, R.O.A.D. is still being worked on as you read this, but I'm more preoccupied with Dark City Chronicles (please read that lol) at the moment. So, R.O.A.D. is currently a side project, but I'm still working this story, but don't expect an update until next year.

Thanks for being fans, and I appreciate your patience.


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